Mkts end in red amid extreme volatility; IT dn 6%

Markets ended in negative terrain amid extreme volatility through the day as selling pressure was seen in technology, FMCG, pharma, select banking and realty stocks while buying in metal, oil & gas and auto stocks. The Sensex swung nearly 290 points and Nifty 114 points.

Infosys, TCS, BHEL, Satyam, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Ranbaxy Labs and HDFC were draggers for both indices while Reliance Ind, ONGC, SBI, Tata Steel, SAIL and L&T were being supportive.

The Sensex closed at 13,330.51, down by 139.34 points or 1.03% after hitting an intraday high of 13,559.36 and low of 13,269.62. Nifty lost 9.03 points or 0.23% to settle at 4039.70. It has hit a high/low of 4118.10 and 4004.25, respectively.

Market breadth was negative; about 1163 shares have advanced while 1755 shares declined. Nearly 228 shares remained unchanged.

Amongst frontliners, Satyam plunged 7.92%, Infosys -7.18%, HCL Tech -5.74%, TCS -3.85% and HDFC -3.38% while Sterlite Ind gained 3.74%, ONGC 3.09%, NTPC 3.09%, M&M 2.91% and SBI 2.90%.

Infosys Technologies was biggest losing counter in frontliners due to steep fall in its ADRs in US markets after weak guidance in dollar terms. Another stock is HCL Tech, which crashed around 10% in today's trade because the company reported forex loss of $ 65-75 million for Q4 including MTM and will incur forex loss of $ 67-77 million in FY08 including MTM.

BSE IT Index plunged 5.94% or 232.04 points to close at 3,675.59 due to selling in Satyam, Infosys, HCL Tech, Mphasis, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Patni Computer and Wipro.

FMCG stocks like ITC, Nestle, United Spirits, Dabur India, Ruchi Soya and Marico have lost ground. Index fell 1.46% at 1,958.29.

Ranbaxy Labs was one of top losers, down nearly 11% on the news that US FDA has taken Ranbaxy to court for systematic fraudulent conduct. USFDA believes violations have resulted in adulterated and misbranded drugs.

BSE Healthcare Index dropped 50 points or 1.21% at 4,079.92. Top losing counters were Ranbaxy Labs, Ipca Labs, Orchid Chemical, Sun Pharma Adv, Novartis India and Wyeth.

Bankex lost 1.23% to settle at 5,970.52 due to selling in Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI Bank, IOB, Federal Bank and Bank of India.

Realty stocks like Anant Raj Ind, Orbit Corporation, Unitech, Mahindra Life, Parsvnath, Phoenix Mills, HDIL, Sobha Developer and Omaxe have collapsed. Index was down 0.78% at 4,762.53.

Capital Goods Index fell 0.32% at 10,740.01 as selling was seen in Crompton Greaves, Areva T&D, Astra Microwave, BHEL, Jyoti Structure, Greaves Cotton, BEML and Alstom Projects.

BSE Midcap index lost 0.64% at 5,330.80 and Small Cap down 1.1% at 6,640.06. Amongst midcap stocks, Bajaj Holdings, Anant Raj Ind, Himadri Chem, Mphasis, Orbit Corporation, IFCI and Motilal Oswal fell 5-6.5%.

In the small cap space, Sparsh BPO Svcs, SpiceJet, EIH Assoc Hotel, Ramcoind and Fortis Financia have plunged 9-15.5%.

However, Metal Index outperformed other indices, jumped 185.48 points or 1.46% at 12,897.19 due to selling in Hind Zinc, Jai Corp, NMDC, Sterlite Ind, Tata Steel, SAIL, NALCO and Ispat Industries.

Oil stocks like ONGC, Reliance Ind, IOC, Essar Oil and HPCL have gained. Index shot up 1.11% or 98.79 points at 8,985.07.

Auto Index was up 1.05% at 3,566.49 on the back of buying in Punj Tractors, M&M, Tata Motors, Bharat Forge, Amtek Auto, Apollo Tyres, Maruti Suzuki and Ashok Leyland.

Most active counters on the bourses were Reliance Ind, Reliance Infra, Ranbaxy Labs, Infosys Tech, Reliance Capital and KSK Energy Ventures.

On the primary market front, KSK Energy Ventures closed at Rs 190.50, down 20.63% from its issue price of Rs 240.

Turnover traded by markets stood at Rs 54,916.22 crore. This includes Rs 10,353.99 crore from NSE Cash segment, Rs 40,096.24 crore from NSE F&O and the balance Rs 4,465.99 crore from BSE Cash segment.

On the global front, Asian markets closed in red barring Shanghai Composite. Hang Seng was down 0.77%, Taiwan Weighted -1.21%, Kospi -0.57%, Straits Times -0.78%, Nikkei -0.23% and Jakarta Composite -0.76%. However, Shanghai Composite gained 0.76%.

European markets were trading strong, at the time of writing market report. FTSE and CAC surged over 1% each and DAX up 0.7%.

Market Snapshot

• Markets end in the red amid volatile session  of trade
• Sensex ends down pts 139 at 13330.5; Nifty down 9 pts at 4040
• CNX Midcap Index down 0.35%; BSE Small Cap Index down 1.1%
• Ranbaxy loses 10.7% on concerns that a probe by the U.S. FDA may hit sales significantly
• Axis Bank down 5.7% even after the company reported stellar results, NII up 81% at 810 cr, Net profit up 89% at 330 cr
• IT Stocks continue their losing streak; BSE IT Index down 6%
  Satyam down 7.8%;Infy down 7.2%;HCL Tech down 5.7% TCS down 3.4%;
• BSE Bank Index down 1.23%; Axis Bank down 4.6%, HDFC Bank down 3.4%, SBI up 3%,PNB up 2.4%
• BSE Metals Index up 1.5%; Sterlite up 3.7%,Tata Steel up 2.6%, Nalco up 2.5%; SAIL up 2.1%
• BSE Oil and Gas Index up 1.1%; ONGC up 3.1%; Reliance Ind up 1.4%
• Index Gainers: NTPC up 3.1%, HUL up 2.8%, Cipla up 2.2%; Reliance Infra up 2.1%, Ambuja Cem up 1.9%
• Index Losers: Unitech down 3.8%, BHEL down 3.6%, ITC down 3.4%, Hindalco down 3.3%, HDFC down 3.2%
• NSE Advance Decline at 1 : 2
• Total F&O turnover at Rs 40,096 cr Vs Rs 50,150 cr 
• Total Market Turnover at Rs 54916 cr Vs Rs 67781 cr on Friday
• New Listing: KSK Energy closes at Rs 191.7 Vs lisitng price of Rs 220 ((Issue Price Of Rs 240))

F&O SNAPSHOT

• Nifty discount trims further; signs of more short covering pushes the discount to single digits
• Nifty July 3700, 3800 and 3900 puts add OI; PCR inches up
• Trading action increases on news driven stocks
• Short covering seen in beaten down sectors
• Huge Short Buildup seen in:
  Ranbaxy: Down 10%; 30% OI buildup
  Axis Bank: Down 4.6%; 50% OI buildup seen
  Satyam Comp and Infosys: both down around 7%; 15% OI buildup seen
• Fresh Shorts:
  Banks: Axis Bank, Kotak Mah Bank, J&K Bank
  IT: Infosys, Satyam, TCS
  Misc: ITC, Crompton Greaves, BHEL, NCC
• Fresh Longs:
  Misc: SAIL, RNRL, Oswal Chem, Tata Motors, SBI
• Short Covering:
  Power: NTPC, Power Grid, Reliance Infra
  Misc: DLF, Ambuja Cem, IDBI, Essar Oil , Balrampur chini,
  Banks: Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank

Contd on page 2...