Profit sales pain again

STOCKS REPORT

Volumes were higher on Thursday but profit booking dragged the market down with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closing in negative territory after recording three straight days of gains.

Moving in a range of 44 points, the Sensex hit a high of 5,233.32 points and a low of 5,189.29 points in intra-day trades before closing (0.23 per cent) 12.13 points lower at 5,198.72.

Blue-chips witnessed selling, with 18 out of the 30-scrip Sensex closing lower. The broader markets also witnessed selling, which was reflected in the market breadth. Losers outpaced gainers 10:8 on the BSE.

IT scrips were in demand on Thursday with the BSE IT index being the biggest gainer, up 1.54 per cent, boosted by gains on the Nasdaq. The BSE TECk index was up 1.49 per cent. The BSE Consumer Durables index was the biggest loser, down 1.14 per cent, followed by the BSE Bankex, down 1.12 per cent and the BSE Oil & Gas index, down 1.03 per cent.

Said a dealer from a local brokerage, "the mid-cap counters have witnessed hectic activity in the last few weeks and some profit booking is expected."

He added that there were talks in the market that some mid-cap companies would be shifted to the trade-to-trade segment of the bourses, which also affected sentiment to an extent.

Another broker added that though the undertone is positive but there is a lack of impetus. Said a dealer from a local brokerage, "We expect the market to remain rangebound in the near term."

Higher international oil prices also added to the negative sentiment, said analysts.

Satyam Computer was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up 3.29 per cent to Rs 350.15, followed by the Zee Telefilms scrip, up 3.03 per cent to Rs 153.25, Tata Power gained 2.25 per cent to Rs 270.50, Infosys Technologies was up 1.44 per cent to Rs 1,603.10 and MTNL gained 1.34 per cent to Rs 124.35.

ICICI Bank was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, down 3.16 per cent to Rs 262.15, followed by Tata Motors, down 1.59 per cent to Rs 386.45, Reliance Energy fell 1.49 per cent to Rs 636.85, ONGC lost 1.30 per cent to Rs 705.25 and HPCL fell 1.22 per cent to Rs 315.60.