The bulls decided to a take a day off, as a result of which the markets traded in an extremely narrow range today. The Sensex after a flat-to-positive start, touched a high of 20,068, and then slipped into red to a low of 19,877 - down 191 points from the day's high. However, sedate recovery towards the close saw the index settle on a flate note. The Sensex was down 26 points at 19,967, and the NSE Nifty shed 19 points to end at 5,993, once again below the psychological 6,000 mark.
The broader markets witnessed considerable selling pressure today. The smallcap and the midcap index fell 2% each underperforming the BSE benchmark index after a good run throughout the week. One of the prime reason for the drag was the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) ban on founders and related entities of four firms from trading on the stock exchanges as these firms had indulged in "fraudulent and unfair" trade practices. The four firms were Murli Industries, Ackruti City, Welspun Corp and Brushman India. All these scrips fell between 12%-17% in the opening trades.
The draggers in the smallcap index were GSS America, Parekh Alum,Murli Industries and Karuturi Global losing 20% each. In the midcap space, the losers were Welspun shedding nearly 27%, Ackruti City losing 20%, KS Oils and Videocon down 13% and 12% respectively.
The three listed airlines companies - Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet were in the limelight today for a good reason. Each of these were up more than 3% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on reports that the domestic airlines have proposed a massive hike in air fares.
The Asian markets closed on a mixed note. Hang Seng lost 0.5% to close at 23,320 while the Nikkei was flat at 10,178. Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted gained 0.3% -0.4% while Straits Times closed down 0.8%
Among the BSE sectoral indices, IT index up 0.6% led the pack followed by Auto and FMCG. All the other indices closed in the negative. Realty down 4% followed by Consumer Durables down 3% languished at the bottom of the sectoral chart.
The gainers in the Sensex- 30 stocks were Hero Honda up 2%, Cipla, Jindal Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and NTPC which gained 1% each.
The major losers were DLF, Reliance Infrastructure and Jaiprakash Associates losing 4% each. Sterlite, ACC, Reliance Communications, Hindalco and Tata Steel shedding 1% - 2% were the other significant losers.
The market breadth was very negative. Of the total 3039 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,204 stocks had declined while 704 had advanced.
