Reliance, profit sales take toll

STOCK REPORT

Key indices shed 1 per cent on Friday amid volatility, with the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex closing below the level of 14000 on profit sales and index heavyweight Reliance Industries declining by nearly 3 per cent.

"There was some delivery-based selling by institutions in Reliance Industries, and this pushed shares down further," a dealer said.

Shares recovered briefly and were up 0.2 per cent after the inflation rate for the week to April 21 fell to 5.77 per cent from 6.09 per cent week ago, lower than the estimate of 5.87 per cent, but shed gains soon after.

Positive cues from Asian markets could also not give support to domestic equities. Key Asian indices touched new highs, buoyed by firm metal prices.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex ended at 13934.27, down 143.94 points, or 1.0 per cent from Thursday. Intraday, it moved between 13912.92 and 14189.21 points.

The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty closed at 4117.35, down 33.50 points, or 0.8 per cent. Intraday, it moved between 4109.70 and 4180.90 points. Turnover on BSE and NSE combined was roughly Rs 13,670 crore, almost unchanged from Rs 13,750 crore on Thursday.

The CNX Midcap Index was up 0.2 per cent, while the S&P CNX 500 Index was down 0.6 per cent. Reliance Industries fell on profit sales after the Bombay High Court on Thursday restrained the company from selling 28 million cubic metre per day of natural gas - committed to Reliance Natural Resources - to a third party.

The RIL stock ended 2.6 per cent down at Rs 1,584.

Shares of information technology companies also declined, as investors booked profits with the rupee appreciating against the dollar.

Satyam Computer Services was down 2 per cent at Rs 470, while Tata Consultancy Services shed 1 per cent at Rs 1,273.

Bharat Petroleum Corp, down 3 per cent at Rs 336, was the worst-hit among Nifty stocks on profit sales. The stock had gained 4 per cent on Thursday.

BPCL will sell around Rs 700 crore worth of oil bonds in the secondary market on Friday. Housing Development Finance Corp ended 2.5 per cent down at Rs 1,638.

Credit Suisse has kept 'underperform' rating on the stock, despite robust Jan-Mar results, as the brokerage expects the volume in housing loans to "decline substantially."

HDFC reported Jan-Mar net profit of Rs 550 crore, up 29 per cent year-on-year.

Cement shares, which were top Nifty gainers earlier in the day, ended down on profit sales. Grasim Industries and Ambuja Cements ended up 1 per cent each, at Rs 2,475 and Rs 120, respectively.

ACC shares managed to end up 1 per cent at Rs 859, but off the day's high of Rs 880.

Cement shares rose in early trade after the government on Thursday replaced the fixed excise duty of Rs 600 per tonne with a 12 per cent ad valorem duty to be paid on the retail sales price of cement.

GAIL India, up 4 per cent at Rs 310, was top Nifty gainer. Dealers are positive on the stock, as the company has reiterated that the Dahej-Uran pipeline will be completed by the first week of June.

Index heavyweight, Oil and Natural Gas Corp, ended up 1 per cent at Rs 929.

The company said it will resume talks on the Barmer refinery with the Rajasthan government.

Cipla shares ended 3 per cent up at Rs 217 on value buying. The stock has fallen 16 per cent since the company on April 27 reported a 34 per cent year-on-year decline in Jan-Mar net profit due to the rise in raw material cost.

Hindalco Industries rose 2 per cent at Rs 148 on 15 per cent year-on-year rise in Jan-Mar net profit at Rs 720 crore. Reliance Natural Resources gained 3 per cent at Rs 27 on hopes it will get more than the required gas from Reliance Industries, and can sell the excess gas in the open market at a higher rate, dealers said.

Shares of Videocon Industries, Unitech, and Aditya Birla Nuvo ended up 3-7 per cent after they were included in the MSCI India index.