Indices slip slightly after volatile session

STOCK REPORT

Equities ended marginally weak in volatile trade on Wednesday, but not before clocking fresh record highs. Key indices recouped nearly all of their intraday losses, after falling around 3 per cent in early trade. However, mid-cap stocks continued to be under pressure through the day. ITC was the top gainer among index stocks, up 10 per cent.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex ended at of 8487.14, down 13.14 points or 0.1 per cent over Tuesday, after touching a low of 8261.58.

In absolute terms, today's intraday fall of around 239 points is the second highest since May 17 last year, when the Sensex had plunged 832 points.

The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty ended at 2567.30, down 10.70 points 0.4 per cent, after touching a low of 2504.90.

On the BSE, retreating shares outflanked gainers by a wide margin of 2,367:221. In other words, more than 10 stocks fell, for every stock that rose.

"Such a correction was predicted as the run-up has been huge and quick. I believe correction in frontline shares was more on technical factors, but mid-caps and especially small caps were pulled down as most of these move up without any fundamental or technical strength," said Praveen Mallik, vice president at Rolta Shares.

Mallik believes that the probe initiated by regulatory authorities like the Securities Exchange Board of India caused some panic leading to selling pressure. A notable thing was the volume, which registered record levels. The total traded turnover in the cash and derivatives segments combined exceeded Rs 410 billion. Turnover in cash segment on the NSE alone exceeded Rs 92 billion compared with Rs 81 billion on Tuesday.

Among key losers in the Nifty, Housing Development Finance Corp, Hindalco Industries, Cipla, Oriental Bank of Commerce, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp ended 2-3 per cent lower.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, and Oil and Natural Gas featured among Nifty gainers.

ITC was the top performer, up 9 per cent at Rs 140.2. The share was trading ex-stock-split today. Tata Tea, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, and Bajaj Auto were among other gainers.

Among second rung indices, the CNX Midcap Index ended down over 2 per cent at 3798.20 after touching a high and low of 3893.20 and 3686.00, respectively. In sector-wise trend, CNX IT Index ended 1.3 per cent lower at 3277.45, while CNX Bank Index ended a per cent lower at 4568.15.

Micro Inks, Sundaram Clayton, and TVS Motor Co were among mid-cap gainers.

Losers included Gujarat NRE Coke, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, and Amtek Auto among others.