Pre-Budget jitters pull down indices

STOCKS REPORT

Pre-Budget jitters and the expiry of the current month's futures contracts on Thursday played on sentiment as the market failed to build on Tuesday's gains. The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed lower as some selling was seen in blue chips and mid-caps.

Technology, FMCG and banking counters were among the biggest losers on Wednesday. Select capital goods and consumer durables counters recorded some gains on Wednesday.

In the BSE Sensex basket, 20 out of the 30 scrips closed lower. The breadth of the market was marginally positive.

Players said that the expiry of current month futures contracts this week and Union Budget on February 28 are playing on sentiment.

"Investors are shifting positions in the futures segment, leading to the uncertainty and volatility," a broker said. Besides, investors are not taking big positions as no clear direction is visible, market analysts added.

The BSE Sensex hit a high of 6607.78 and a low of 6565.42 in intra-day trades before closing at 6582.50, down 6.91 points (0.10 per cent) from Tuesday's close.

Volumes were marginally higher than on Tuesday in the cash segment of the bourses; the BSE reported a turnover of Rs 2,174.05 crore and the NSE reported a turnover of Rs 4,591.64 crore.

Satyam Computer was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 2.41 per cent to close at Rs 394.80, followed by HPCL, down 1.34 per cent to Rs 343.20, Gujrat Ambuja Cement fell 1.26 per cent to Rs 438.05, Tata Power fell 1.10 per cent to Rs 405.15 and Cipla was down 1.03 per cent to Rs 264.95.

L&T was up 2.08 per cent to Rs 1089.60, followed by Reliance Industries, up 1.56 per cent to Rs 548.05, Zee Telefilms gained 1.50 per cent to Rs 152.45, Hindalco was up 1.38 per cent to Rs 1376.70 and ONGC gained 0.58 per cent to Rs 814.45.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 257 crore on Tuesday as per data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India website. Strong buying support from foreign funds has helped the market record a rally but the undertone of the market is cautious as a lack of active domestic participation has raised concerns, market entities said.