Wobbly Indian shares fell to
their lowest in 2008 on Tuesday, rattled by concerns interest
rates may be raised to cool inflation, but pared some losses
toward the close on late buying by domestic funds. The 30-share main share index .BSESN ended down 1.17
percent at 14,889.25 points, its lowest close since mid-March,
with 21 components in the red. It hit a trough of 14,645.31, below the previous 2008 low
of 14,677.24 in March, and the lowest since Aug. 29, 2007. Traders said domestic funds scooped up bargains, helping
the market to pull off the lows. "They have started cherry picking long-term outperformers,"
said Amitabh Chakraborty, president of equities at Religare
Securities. Software stocks such as bellwether Infosys Technology Ltd
(INFY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) that get more than half their revenue from the United
States led the losses amid worries the U.S. economy was heading
for stagflation. Financials like ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), India's No. 2 lender
fell 2.5 percent to 731.60 rupees, its lowest since October, on
worries higher interest rates would slow down loans growth. Smaller rival HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) dropped 4.5 percent to
1,130.95 rupees, the lowest close since August. The sector
index fell 2.4 percent. Traders said the outlook remains shaky with foreign
portfolio investors dumping Indian stocks, which have fallen
26.6 percent this year and making them among the worst
performers in Asia. Data on Tuesday showed foreign funds pulled out $332.6
million the previous day, taking the total outflow in 2008 to
more than $5 billion. "The market is likely to remain subdued in the coming days,
as global equity market sentiment remains weak due to high
crude oil prices," local brokerage Anand Rathi Securities said. Top listed firm Reliance Industries (RELI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 1.7
percent to 2,199.40 rupees, ahead of its annual shareholders
meet on Thursday where it is expected to announce a slew of
business initiatives, traders said. Infosys fell 2.9 percent to 1,849.10 rupees, its lowest
close in more than two weeks, while leader Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 3.9 percent to 880.05 rupees and smaller
rival Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) shed 2.8 percent to
477.90 rupees. In the broader market, losers overwhelmed gainers 1,663 to
958 on volume of 272.5 million shares. The 50-share NSE index fell 1.14 percent to
4,469.80 points. Elsewhere in the region, Karachi's 100-Share index
shed 0.23 percent to 12,878.04 and Colombo's All-Share index
.CSE eased 0.14 percent lower at 2,489.25. STOCKS THAT MOVED * Spice Communications (SPCM.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 4.1 percent to 55.40
rupees after the Economic Times reported that Idea Cellular
(IDEA.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) was set to buy the founders' stake of 40.8 percent in
Spice for 77-78 rupees a share. * Auto parts maker L G Balakrishnan & Bros (LGB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped
10.9 percent to 16.30 rupees after British industrial chain
maker Renold Plc (RNO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it plans to buy a 75 percent
stake in the Indian firm's industrial chains division.
[ID:nBOM129869]. * Shares in pharmaceutical firms Ranbaxy (RANB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research),
Aurobindo Pharma (ARBN.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Divi's Laboratories (DIVI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and
Cipla (CIPL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose between 3.9 percent and 6.5 percent as
they were seen as defensive buys, traders said. MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME* IFCI Ltd (IFCI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) on 18.5 million shares.* Reliance Petroleum (RPET.BO: Quote, Profile, Research)> on 13.6 million shares* Ispat Industries (ISPT.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) 13.5 million shares FACTORS TO WATCH
* Indian rupee off early lows on cbank move
[INR/]
* Indian bond yields steady as inflation weighs
[IN/]
* FOREX-Dollar jumps,Bernanke stokes Fed rate hike
outlook[FRX/]
* Oil rebounds as supply worry offsets demand falls
[O/R]
* GLOBAL MARKETS-Bonds slide, dollar rises on Bernanke warning
[MARKETS/AS]
* US STOCKS-U.S. Futures drop after Bernanke inflation warning
[.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
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