Activity on the BSE remained restricted to the side counters yesterday with most of the index scrips coming under selling pressure. The Sensex ended at 4093.62, a loss of 25.77 points over the previous close.
The Reliance scrip figured among the major losers of the day losing Rs 8 over the previous close. Marketmen said that there was heavy speculative selling in this counter. They added that the scrip would witness hectic activity today just ahead of its results. Among other key pivotals, ITC slipped by Rs 7.75 to close at Rs 494.50, SBI lost Rs 2 (close Rs 339.25), while Tisco closed lower by Rs 3.25 at Rs 188.
HLL bucked the general trend mainly on news of its probable merger with Ponds, and gained Rs 44.50 over the previous close to close at Rs 1353.75. Among the notable gainers in the side counters were Asian Paints which closed at Rs 345(+Rs 13.75), Burroughs Welcome at Rs 349.50(+Rs 6.50), Cadbury at Rs 320.50(+Rs 15.50) and Glaxo at Rs 366(+Rs 10).
Among the major losers of the day were HDFC, which lost Rs 209.75 to close at Rs 3670.50 and Lakme which lost Rs 15 to close at Rs 424.50. The Tata Chemicals scrip finally ran out of steam with the scrip losing Rs 7.75 over the previous close to end the day at Rs 175.50. Marketmen said FIIs were selling heavily at this counter. The Voltas scrip came under heavy selling pressure due to its poor corporate performance and hit the lower end of the filter circuit at Rs 26.
Hotel scrips Indian Hotels and East India Hotels failed to capitalise on their good results. The East India Hotels scrip closed at Rs 431, down Rs 0.25 over the previous close while Indian Hotels closed lower by Rs 7 at Rs 631. The index opened at 4123.82, touched an intra-day high of 4132.40, saw a low of 4078.31 before finally closing at 4119.39. The bourse recorded a turnover of Rs 907.62 crore for the day. Our Financial Bureau
