Global shakedown effect

STOCKS REPORT

Weak global markets and muted guidance by technology major Infosys spooked the markets to its biggest crash of 2005. The benchmark BSE Sensex crashed 3.39 per cent or 219 points to close at 6248.34, its lowest close since January 27, 2005.

The Nifty ended at 1956.30, down 3.41 per cent or 69.15 points to breach its crucial 2000 level. The Sensex hit an intra-day low of 6232.37 with 1817 declines and 502 advances. The volumes however were slightly higher and accounted for Rs 2,462.70 crore of trade compared with Rs 1,828.84 crore on Wednesday on BSE.

A dealer with a domestic broking firm said, "It is the weakness in global equity markets which sparked a sell on Indian bourses. The sentiment is extremely cautious and a further correction of 200 points will bring a comfort level for buying in the market."

Global markets ended weak, shaken by disappointing results from major technology company IBM and Samsung Electronics. S&P 500 was down 1 per cent, Nasdaq Composite was down 1.40 per cent, Dow Jones was down 1.20 per cent, Shanghai Composite was down 1.11 per cent and Seoul Composite was down 2.79 per cent.

"The indices opened in the negative territory with a downward momentum witnessed across the board," brokers said, adding the mood in the market is extremely cautious as the buoyancy of corporate performance is not expected to meet the street expectations.

"Q4 results will be mixed with action limited to stock specifics, going forward," said a head of research with a domestic broking firm.

Among the Sensex basket, the top three loser were IT stocks. Infosys Technologies was down 6.93 per cent to Rs 1,956.60, Wipro was down 6.29 per cent to Rs 605.35 and Satyam was down 6.09 per cent to Rs 382.75. Among the sectoral indices, BSE IT index was down 6.17 per cent to 2434.47, followed by BSE-Metal index down 4.67 per cent to 5947.98 and BSE-Oil & Gas index down 2.72 per cent to 2990.52.

Essar Steel was down 7.65 per cent to Rs 54.30, Steel Authority of India was down 6.63 per cent to Rs 58.40, Jindal Steel was down 3.03 per cent to Rs 1,020, Bhushan Steel was down 3.04 per cent to Rs 212, Tata Steel was down 3.11 per cent to Rs 366.25, Ispat Industries was down 3.27 per cent to Rs 26.65, Uttam Galva Steel was down 4.96 per cent to Rs 59.45 and Jindal Vijaynagar Steel ended 4.21 per cent lower to Rs 351.3. Steel stocks ended negative on concerns of a weakness in demand from China, where India is a big exporter.

Among heavyweights, ONGC was down 3.30 per cent to Rs 846.65, Reliance Industries was down 2.81 per cent to Rs 529.70, ITC was down 2.35 per cent to Rs 1,376.80, while Hindustan Lever ended 0.64 per cent lower to Rs 132.25. Banking stocks also lost ground. The BSE Bankex shed 115.14 points, or 2.96 per cent, to end at 3,771.71.