Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Jul 22, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Jul 22, 2005 |
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Markets
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Commentary Columns - Sensor Broadbased profit-taking weakens market Aarati Krishnan
AFTER opening on a firm note, the stock markets quickly lost steam during the day's trading. The BSE Sensex closed 38 points lower at 7,304 levels, after touching an intra-day high of 7,380 points. The CNX Nifty closed 11 points lower at 2,230 levels. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks took a drubbing, as they were swept by broadbased profit-booking. The BSE 500 matched the Sensex in value erosion. While the BSE Midcap Index lost more value than the Sensex, the CNX Midcap Index fared marginally better than the Nifty. The number of stocks that declined outnumbered advances in both the index baskets. In the Sensex basket, 21 stocks lost value, while 9 gained. Declines sharply outnumbered advances in the broader market indices as well. Several important developments followed the close of trading hours on Thursday. China announced a long-expected proposal to revalue its currency — the Yuan in measured doses and free it from its peg with the US dollar. News reports of another set of isolated blast incidents at London, trickled in late evening. Index movers The ITC stock proved instrumental in taking down the Sensex on Thursday, losing Rs 37.7 to close at Rs 1,634. L&T, Infosys Technologies and SBI too weighed on the index. The HDFC stock, believed to be classical defensive position in a declining market, rose, putting on Rs 14 during the day. The Bharti Televentures stock also gained in a declining market. Most technology and banking stocks ended the day lower while consumer goods reported a mixed trend. The Satyam Computer stock defied bearish trends to post gains, after its earnings announcement cheered the markets. Banking stocks, as a class, shed value. Apart from SBI, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Oriental Bank were among the stocks to lose value. On the NSE, Dabur India, VSNL and Bharti Televentures were among the top gainers, adding between 1.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent in value. Outside of the indices, stocks were witness to broadbased selling during the day. In the mid-cap space, prominent stocks that shed considerable value were Financial Technologies, Alfa Laval, United Phosphorus and Praj Industries. Those that gained significantly in price were Havells India, Atlas Copco, OCL India, Sesa Goa and CCL Products. The Dredging Corporation stock was among the major gainers for the day. Fertiliser stocks shed some gains Fertilisers stocks, which had made steady gains in the preceding sessions on the back of good monsoon hopes, shed considerable value during the day. The Tata Chemicals stock was among the big losers for the day, with the stock losing about Rs 5.5 to close at Rs 191. The company, during the day announced its numbers for the June quarter. It reported a marginal decline in sales and a modest 9 per cent growth in profit from operations. Disappointing numbers from Tata Chemicals also seemed to undermine other fertiliser stocks, with Coromandel Fertilisers and Rashtriya Chemicals also cooling off from the previous day's levels. Responding to numbers A host of other stock-specific moves were also traceable to earnings announcements, either during the day, or on the preceding day. The Trent stock put on some value after the company reported a 60 per cent profit growth in the June quarter. The Satyam Computer stock surged, after the company bettered both its revenue and profit guidance for the quarter. Britannia Industries was among the gainers for the day, after it reported reasonable growth in profit from operations. In contrast, the ABB stock lost Rs 15 during the day, after the company declared its numbers. Most active The less prominent stocks that attracted considerable trading activity during the day were Gufic Biosciences, Arvind Remedies, Southern Steel, Aptech, Gateway Distriparks and SPIC.
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