Sensex down 83 points

STOCKS REPORT

Selling pressure emerged in frontline counters, especially in technology, FMCG and banking sectors. Select mid-cap counters were in the limelight on fresh buying interest.

In the 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex basket, 26 scrips closed with losses. But the breadth of the market was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 7:5.

The mood for technology scrips was driven by Infosys Technologies, which lost 2.47 per cent to Rs 2,029.30 on market buzz that the company may defer its plans for a second issue of American Depositary Receipts.

The FMCG sector was grounded ahead of sector-leader Hindustan Lever's quarterly results on Friday, and banking stocks lost ground on general profit booking in an otherwise directionless market.

The Hindustan Lever scrip lost a good 2.17 per cent to Rs 162.15, the ICICI Bank scrip lost 1.3 per cent to Rs 360.20 rupees, while the State bank of India scrip lost 0.84 per cent to Rs 642.65 and HDFC Bank stock fell 0.8 per cent to Rs 560.95.

A dealer from IL&FS Investsmart said that the market was seeing select profit taking after the recent rally on the back of a slew of positive 'news'.

An I-Sec dealing room source said the pre-Budget news had already been factored into stock pries and any movement in prices from now on will be stock-specific.

Brokers said Monday's trading reflected a distinct lack of investor interest and even indecisiveness as there were no triggers to provide direction. The next significant trigger is expected to be the Union Budget, which will be announced at the end of this month.

Strong buying support from foreign funds in the last few sessions had helped the market record a strong rally but the undertone of the market appeared cautious, brokers said. A lack of active domestic participation has also raised concerns among market players, they added.

Opening with gains over Friday's close, the Sensex hit a high of 6658.33 and a low of 6514.86 in intra-day trades, before closing at 6535.17, down 1.26 per cent (83.06 points) from Friday's close. Volumes were lower than on Friday in the cash segment of the bourses; the BSE reported a turnover of Rs 2,219.38 crore and the National Stock Exchange reported a turnover of Rs 4926.33 crore.

The HDFC scrip was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 2.92 per cent to close at Rs 792.40, followed by the ACC scrip, which lost 2.70 per cent to Rs 365.50, after global cement major Holcim denied any moves to raise the open offer price.

The HPCL stock fell 2.44 per cent to Rs 356.05 and Cipla was down 2.39 per cent to Rs 277.80.

The four gainers in the Sensex basket included Bharti Tele-Ventures, which gained 1.52 per cent to Rs 220.75, Tata Steel gained 0.57 per cent to Rs 399.30, Tata Motors was up 0.43 per cent to Rs 492.30 and Satyam Computer closed flat at Rs 404.25.