Profit sales hurt

STOCKS REPORT

Information technology scrips were among the biggest losers as profit taking dragged the market down.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex hit an intra-day high of 5585.57 and a low of 5535.57, before closing at 5545.82, down 0.28 per cent (15.33 points) from Friday's close.

The BSE TECk Index was the biggest loser, down 1.43 per cent, followed by the IT Index, down 1.35 per cent and the BSE Oil & Gas Index fell 0.39 per cent.

Brokers said the undertone of the market remains positive on the back of sustained foreign fund inflows.

Market players said investors were optimistic and many were of the opinion that the inflation had peaked and were looking ahead to strong corporate earnings for the July-September quarter.

Easing international oil prices had also contributed to the recent gains of the market, they added.

Blue chips had a mixed day, with 17 out of the 30 Sensex stocks closing lower.

The broader markets were also negative, witnessing selling pressure on account of profit taking; losers outpaced gainers in the 10:9 ratio on the BSE.

Grasim Industries was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, down 2.08 per cent to Rs 1169.60, followed by Maruti Udyog down 2.01 per cent to Rs 350.80 and Wipro fell 1.96 per cent to Rs 580.70.

Cipla was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up 1.91 per cent to Rs 275.40, followed by Tata Steel, up 1.79 per cent to Rs 284.50 and HPCL up 1.68 per cent to Rs 333.25.

Turnover was lower than on Friday in the cash segment of the bourses. The BSE reported a turnover of Rs 1,842.17 crore and the National Stock Exchange posted a turnover of Rs 4,344.87 crore.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 481.10 crore on Friday, while domestic mutual funds were net sellers to the tune of Rs 43.20 crore.