Oil price, results worries spread

STOCKS REPORT

All-round pessimism led to a sell-off spree which dragged the Bombay Stock Exchange BSE bellwether Sensex down 65 points at the end of Wednesday's trading.

Technology, steel and automobile stocks were the main losers. The Sensex ended at 5,673, after opening at 5,738.44 and going to a high of 5,750.14. The low for the day was 5,662.76. The broader Nifty index ended at 1,790.05, down by 18.35 points.

Dealers said despite largely good corporate results, there was a general gloom in the market partly due to the rise in oil prices, while some analysts have also been forecasting a rising interest rate regime, which has dampened the sentiment to some extent.

In the run-up to the results, the index has gained around five per cent. The results of Bajaj Auto and Satyam Computer were, however, not up to market expectations and this in part was also responsible for the sell-off of shares.

Losers beat gainers 1,020 to 847 in trades of 12.2 crore shares, up from Tuesday's 11.2 crore. The BSE IT Sector index ended 33.48 points, or 1.44 per cent, lower at 2,292.60, after hitting an intra-day high of 2,336.51. Steel stocks fell due to fears of prices going down.

Market watchers said some positives such as a favourable announcement on the foreign direct investment front could be a driver for the markets to go up.

The government approved a proposal to raise the foreign equity limit in airline firms to 49 per cent from 40 per cent, but continued to bar foreign carriers from holding stakes. US crude prices also stayed at around $2 under Monday's record high of $55.33 a barrel.

Among index heavyweights, Reliance Industries fell more than two per cent to close at Rs 548.35, while Oil and Natural Gas Corporation slipped 0.7 per cent to close at Rs 803.90. Together, they have a weightage to make up more than 30 per cent in the index.

Satyam fell 5.5 per cent to Rs 379.55 after its net profit rose 28 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services slipped 0.8 per cent to Rs 1,131.10 and Wipro dipped 0.8 per cent to Rs 647.15.

Infosys Technologies also closed down 0.44 per cent at Rs 1,758.95 due to selling at the counter. Bajaj Auto closed down 2.29 per cent at Rs 982.35, after its results showed a fall in net profit.

Maruti Udyog ended down 1.22 per cent at Rs 358.90, while Tata Motors also closed down 0.81 per cent at Rs 412.20, again on selling pressure after early gains.