BSE Sensex sheds 49 pts; Reliance dips 1%, ICICI up 1.7%

Equity benchmarks could not sustain recovery in late trade Thursday, losing marginally at close. The NSE Nifty, which fell below the 50 day moving average of 5877.42 in morning trade on weak global cues, managed to recoup all losses in afternoon trade on financials’ support. But further fall in Reliance and Infosys in last 15 minutes of trade dragged the Nifty 2.45 points down, to close at 5921.40

The BSE Sensex fell 48.73 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 19519.49. But the broader market outperformed benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.1 percent.
The market is down more than 3 percent from last week as FII inflows continue to wane. "If money flow tapers off further then probably a greater fall cannot be ruled out. But my own sense is that 5800 should still hold out," Dilip Bhat, Joint MD of Prabhudas Lilladher said.
Reliance Industries shares slipped one percent despite chairman Mukesh Ambani, at 39th annual general meeting, says he will invest Rs 1.5 lakh crore over next three years.
Software services exporter Infosys slipped 1.4 percent while telecom operator Bharti Airtel lost more than 2 percent.
Housing finance company HDFC erased all its gains towards close, which ended flat after rising more than 1.6 percent during the day.
Steel and healthcare shares remained under pressure throughout the session today whereas banks gained momentum in second half of trade.
Country’s largest lenders ICICI Bank and State Bank of India rose by 1.7 percent and 0.86 percent, respectively.
Larsen & Toubro shares advanced 0.6 percent. Brokerage house CLSA is overweight on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,715 . “The management is confident about meeting its 20% order inflow guidance for FY14, driven by the infra and hydrocarbons segment,” CLSA in its report said.