CMP casts shadow

STOCKS REPORT

The markets continued to witness volatility ahead of the new government's announcement of its Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and the expiry of May derivatives contracts on Thursday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) Sensex swung in a range of 115 points in intraday trades. It closing at 5,081.95, down 0.40 per cent, or 20.27 points, from Tuesday's close.

The bellwether index hit a high of 5,163.61 and a low of 5,049.21 points during the day. The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty, a borader, fell 7.9 points to close at 1,598.80.

Nineteen of the 30 Sensex stocks ended lower. The market breadth was positive, with 903 advances and 797 declines on the BSE.

The BSE capital goods index was the biggest gainer, up 2.79 per cent, followed by healthcare sector index, up 0.86 per cent and Bankex gained 0.30 per cent.

The FMCG sector index was the biggest loser today, down 1.76 per cent, followed by IT index, down 0.74 per cent, and the consumer durables index, down 0.61 percent.

BHEL was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket today, up 5.5 per cent to Rs 483.55, followed by Bharti Tele-Ventures, up 3.4 per cent to Rs 155 and Dr Reddy's Labs gained 2.63 per cent to Rs 898.60.

ITC was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket today, falling 3.89 percent to Rs 888.35, followed by ONGC, down 2.64 per cent to Rs 712.30 and Maruti Udyog was down 2.49 per cent to Rs 443.60.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries gained 0.71 per cent to Rs 459.10 while the State Bank of India scrip fell 1.16 per cent to Rs 532.75 and HLL was down 1.45 per cent to Rs 139.60.

Tech bellwether Infosys Technologies was down 1.32 per cent to Rs 5,288.10 and Wipro fell 2.03 per cent to Rs 1,587.45.

The volumes in the market were lower than those on Tuesday. The cash segment turnover stood at Rs 1,965.14 crore on the BSE and at Rs 4,260.80 crore on the NSE.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 129.80 crore and mutual funds Rs 11.2 crore on Tuesday.