Blue chip blemish

STOCKS REPORT

Despite opening in positive territory, selling pressure in blue chip counters dragged the market down. The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex closed lower in another volatile trading session as investors turned sellers.

PSU, auto, FMCG and pharma scrips were among the biggest losers while select metal and cement counters recorded some gains on Wednesday. The breadth of the market was negative with losers outpacing gainers 8:5. In the Sensex basket, 19 out of the 30 scrips closed lower.

Amid alternate bouts of buying and selling, the BSE Sensex hit a high of 6,230.62 and a low of 6,160.40 in intra-day trades.

The Sensex finally closed at 6,173.32, down 19.03 points (0.31 per cent) from Tuesday's close. Volumes were lower compared with Tuesday in the cash segment of the bourses; the BSE reported a turnover of Rs 1,916.95 crore and the NSE reported a turnover of Rs 4,073.96 crore.

Automobile stocks were in the focus after Bajaj Auto's quarterly results came in as a disappointment, analysts said. Other auto counters also witnessed selling pressure as a result, they added.

A dealer from a local brokerage house said, "Despite some positive results, sentiment remains weak and the next big trigger could be the annual budget expected next month."

The undertone of the market remained cautious amid worries that foreign fund inflows may taper off this year on the back of a stronger dollar. Brokers said that they expect the market to be rangebound in the near term.

Market players said that lack of buying is being seen as investors are mostly discounting the good results and selling on bad news.

Foreign funds were net sellers of Indian shares worth Rs 164.50 crore on Tuesday while domestic mutual funds were net sellers to the tune of Rs 7.90 crore, data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India show.

Bajaj Auto was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 5.72 per cent to close at Rs 1,021.65, followed by Maruti Udyog, down 2.25 per cent to Rs 407.75, Satyam Computer fell 2.21 per cent to Rs 358.55, Tata Power was down 1.95 per cent to Rs 369.20 and Tata Steel fell 1.50 per cent to Rs 461.15.

Zee Telefilms was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, gaining 3.36 per cent to close at Rs 153.85, followed by Cipla, up 1.97 per cent to Rs 266.40, Reliance Energy, up 1.96 per cent to Rs 508.60, Tata Steel gained 1.29 per cent to Rs 348.40 and Hero Honda was up 1.26 per cent to Rs 543.85.