Blue chips take a knock

STOCKS REPORT

Pharmaceutical and banking counters were among the biggest gainers on Monday, while consumer durables and technology scrips witnessed loses.

Volumes were extremely low on the bourses on Monday. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at 5,679.83, falling 0.12 per cent (6.90 points) from Friday's close.

Moving on either sides of the breakeven, the Sensex hit a high of 5,727.96 in early trades but fell in the afternoon to hit a low of 5,670.37.

Blue chip stocks witnessed selling pressure, with 20 out of the 30 Sensex shares closing lower, dragging the market down. The broader market reflected the negative sentiment; with losers outpacing gainers in the 3:2 ratio on the BSE.

Brokers said worries over rising international oil prices is capping gains as players book profits at higher levels but the undertone remains positive on the back of expectations of good quarterly results from corporates.

Rising oil prices have raised concerns about domestic inflation and higher interest rates, players said. They also stayed away as a lack of positive triggers and definite direction played the spoilsport.

The BSE Healthcare Index was the biggest gainer, up 0.88 per cent, followed by the Bankex index, up 0.84 per cent. The BSE Consumer Durables Index was the biggest loser, down 1.44 per cent, followed by the TECk index, down 1.35 per cent and the IT index fell 1.05 per cent.

HDFC was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up three per cent to close at Rs 649, followed by ICICI Bank, up 2.44 per cent to Rs 294.30, BHEL up 0.95 per cent to Rs 616.35, Reliance Industries up 0.89 per cent to Rs 550.55 and HDFC Bank gained 0.84 per cent to Rs 409.50.

Tata Power was the biggest loser among Sensex shares, down 1.87 per cent to Rs 307, followed by Bharti Tele-Ventures down 1.76 per cent to Rs 147.70, Wipro fell 1.69 per cent to Rs 638.70,

ONGC down 1.53 per cent to Rs 793.60 and Zee Telefilms fell 1.38 per cent to Rs 154.15.

Heavyweights Hindustan Lever was down 0.43 per cent to Rs 126.25, State Bank fell 1.1 per cent to Rs 460.30 and ITC fell 1.34 per cent to Rs 1103.75.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 39.50 crore, while domestic mutual funds were net buyers to the tune of Rs 10.90 crore on Friday.

Turnover was lower than on Friday in the cash segment of the bourses. The BSE reported a turnover of Rs 1,341.83 crore and the National Stock Exchange posted a turnover of Rs 3,028.54 crore.