Stockmarket watchers will have to wait for another trading session to see the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensex touch the magical 5000 mark. Yesterday's frenzy pushed the sensex to yet another record close of 4905.89, a gain of 35.23 points over Friday's close. During intra-day trading, the sensex had come tantalisingly close to the mark, touching an all-time high of 4965.79.
The sensex opened at 4953.73, up 82.07 points from Friday's close, as the bulls further firmed their grip on the market. However, the absence of institutional buying and profit-booking towards the mid-session pushed the sensex down to 4900.87.
The 50-share National Stock Exchange index too opened 14.65 points up at 1431.40. Market players said institutional activity was minimal yesterday, which was also indicated by the sharp rise in the net outstanding position on the BSE.
At the end of yesterday's trading, the net outstanding position jumped by Rs 220 crore to Rs 2,335 crore. "The market looks over-stretched and most investors prefer to keep out of the market at current levels," Advani Share Brokers' director Sunil Singhania said.
Despite the lack of institutional activity, the trading turnover on the bourses remained on the higher side. The combined trading turnover of the BSE and NSE touched Rs 4,660.56 crore.
Buying interest was scattered yesterday and there was no clear trend in the market. Ranbaxy Labs was up 4.5 per cent, topping the list of securities with the highest turnover on both the exchanges. On the NSE, the scrip clocked a turnover of Rs 245.72 crore and closed at Rs 1,119.95, while on the BSE, over 22.31 lakh Ranbaxy shares worth Rs 249 crore changed hands. The scrip closed at Rs 1,125.90 on the exchange.
In the absence of institutional activity, players do not expect the market to exhibit strength at the higher levels. Activity in the midcap stocks also remained on the lower side.
