After four consecutive days of gains, equities ended lower on Friday due to profit booking. A higher-than-expected inflation, the Railway Budget, and pre-budget jitters had little impact on the market. Analysts said despite the correction, the market was mostly calm, which is unusual before the Union Budget. |
The inflation figure though fell to 4.02 per cent in the week ended February 11 (4.08 per cent a year ago) was still higher than the estimated 3.92 per cent. |
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The 30-share Sensex ended down 43.29 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 10,200.76, while the 50-share Nifty ended down 12.05 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 3050.05. |
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Total turnover of both exchanges combined was a little over Rs 9,100 crore compared with Rs 12,400 crore on Thursday. |
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The market started off on a flat note, but slipped into the red due to weakness in ONGC, HLL and pharmaceutical shares. However, strength in SBI and Reliance Industries limited the downside. |
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On BSE, gainers trailed losers 1,094:1,372. The previous two sessions had seen gainers trail losers 1:2, despite indices soaring to fresh peaks. |
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"The budget is unlikely to bring any major surprises for the market," said M Parameswar, director at Shreyas Stock Broking. He said the railway budget has led to reactions from some specific sectors. However, the actual implications will be seen only later once the fine-print is clear. |
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Public sector banking shares led Nifty gainers on Friday. PNB, OBC and SBI rose 4 per cent each. The rise in these shares limited downside in indices. |
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Oil shares rose after the rail budget proposed freight cut on petrol and diesel by 8 per cent. However, the budget spelt trouble for the automobile sector as rail freight load was hiked. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra slipped after the announcement. |
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