Stocks went on a roller-coaster ride yesterday that saw the 30-scrip sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange leap to a new 52-week high on a day of frenzied trading before tumbling at the close on a bout of profit-taking.
The sensex closed at 4082.50, down 5.14 points over the previous close of 4087.64, under acute selling pressure from local financial institutions.
The markets lost ground towards the end of the trading session as Unit Trust of India sold at key counters.
The NSE-50 moved upwards on the first day of the new settlement cycle at the NSE, closing at 1159.80 against the previous close of 1138.80, a gain of 21 points.
According to marketmen, the results of ACC and SBI are expected to dictate the trend on the bourses in the coming trading session. Marketmen expect a technical correction to take place today with fresh developments taking place on the political front. The next resistance level (on the upside) is seen at 4083 and then at 4131; on the downside, the support level is seen at 3800, analysts said. Most of the activity on the bourses yesterday was witnessed in side counters like Ponds, Reckitt and Colman, Gujarat Ambuja Cement, Smithkline Pharmaceuticals and Tata Tea.
Among key pivotals, Tisco gained handsomely on FII buying support while ITC, Reliance and SBI lost ground.
FIIs were reported to be picking up stocks like Glaxo, Tata Tea, Tisco, Telco and Hindustan Lever while they were reported to be booking profits at some of the index counters. The ACC scrip continued to witness selling pressure in anticipation of poor results that were due later in the day.
