BSE Sensex falls ahead of fiscal year-end
The BSE Sensex edged lower on Wednesday, led by losses in banks, on portfolio positioning by institutional investors ahead of the end of the fiscal year this week.
March 28, 2012 / 11:47 IST
The BSE Sensex edged lower on Wednesday, led by losses in banks, on portfolio positioning by institutional investors ahead of the end of the fiscal year this week.
Investors are also concerned about foreign selling on the back of the uncertainty over the taxation for participatory notes, which are popular derivative instruments through which many overseas investors buy into Indian equities.Foreign investors have reduced their net purchases of Indian stocks this week, but have not yet turned heavy sellers. National Stock Exchange data showed provisional net purchases of Rs 42.9 crore on Tuesday but net sales of around USD 18.3 million on Monday.Domestic institutional investors sold a provisional net of Rs 290 crore on Tuesday's session."Thursday is the last day for settling trades for financial year 2011-12, in the cash segment, so today profit booking might take place in selected blue chips stocks," said Hiten Gala, a senior advisor at brokerage SharekhanThe NSE banking sub-index index was down 0.8%, after surging about 26% in a quarter marked by two separate cuts in the cash reserve ratio for a combined 125 basis points.However, doubts about when the central bank will also cut the repo rate at its mid-April meeting have dented some of that rally in the past couple of weeks.At 11:10 a.m , the benchmark 30-share BSE index was down 0.22%. The 50-share NSE index fell 0.31% at 5,211. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
