The markets are having a subdued session of trade in contrast to the swings that have characterized the trading activity through this week. The Sensex is quoting at 16911, lower by 21 points and the Nifty is at 5084, down seven points. The midcap index is at 6140, lower by 12 points and the smallcap index is at 6861, down four points.
The bourses worldwide seem to be in pause mode as investors await a weekend meeting of European leaders for signs of progress in resolving the region's debt crisis. Wall Street ended marginally in the green as worries remained whether European leaders could reach a deal on further strengthening the region's rescue fund. Dow Jones added 37 points and S&P 500 went up six points to 1,215. Asian markets, including Hang Seng, Nikkei and Taiwan (Straits Times and Seoul, however, went strong) also had a listless session. And there was not much to write about on the European front either, with the FTSE, CAC and DAX just about edging higher in early trades.
Given the fact that markets have been yo-yoing through the week, with the Sensex tanking by more than 300 points on Tuesday, retracing all the losses on the very next day and again giving way again on Thursday, the quiet trading on the last day of the session would have come as a soothing balm for many a frayed nerve.
The realty pack had a bad session of trade. DLF weakened by 2.4% at Rs 225 to top the losers list on the BSE Sensex. HCC slid byhan 2% after posting a net loss for the second quarter ended September, 2011, at Rs 40.5 crore. Phoenix Mills, Parsvanath Developers, Anant Raj Industries and Unitech were among the major losers in this space. Among the other key index losers, Bharti Airtel shed 2.1% at Rs 381, HDFC shed 1.7% at Rs 633 and Tata Steel lost 1.4% at Rs 434.
Cairn India slid by 2% at Rs 288 after reporting 51% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in its consolidated net profit to Rs 763 crore for the quarter ended September 2011 on accounting one-time payment of royalty on mainstay Rajasthan oilfields after market hours on Thursday.
On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki was the top gainer on the Sensex. The stock jumped 2% to Rs 1,098 after workers called off their two-week long strike at the Manesar plant. L&T gained 1.6% at Rs 1408 ahead of its results expected later in the day. Bajaj Auto, BHEL and SBI added 1-2% each.
The market breadth is weak. Out of 2792 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1210 advancing stocks as against 1465 declines.
