Bank, metal drag Sensex down 142 points

Cutting short the two-day gaining streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex today fell by 142 points due to selling by funds as rising crude oil prices sparked fears of interest rate hike amid a weakening global trend.

The 30-share barometer fell by 141.97 points to 18,327.98 points. The index had gained 247 points in the last two trading sessions. Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped by 36.60 points to 5,494.40 points.

Global stock markets declined on renewed concern about the euro debt crisis and rising crude oil prices that might curb the global economic growth.

Banking and metal stocks fell on fears that easing food inflation might be temporary and the Reserve Bank of India might further hike interest rate at its policy meeting next week.

The food inflation fell to 9.52 per cent for the week ended February 26 from 10.39 per cent in the previous week.

Crude oil climbed as escalating violence in Libya, Africa’s third-largest producer, renewed concern that supply disruptions may spread in West Asia.

Marketmen said the investor confidence remained jittery on fears of more tightening measures to stabilise economic growth in the RBI policy review scheduled next week.

Financial company stocks remained under pressure and suffered the most as the Government has increased its repurchase rate seven times in the past year to 6.5 per cent to stem inflation.

The Sensex has lost 13 per cent from its record level on November 5, making it the world’s third-worst performing benchmark index on concern that the Government measures to quell inflation will hurt economic growth.

Banking index fell by 1.16 per cent to 12,313.14 as the stocks of SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined. Metal index dropped by 1.3 per cent to 15,666.92 followed by Teck index by 0.54 per cent to 3,656.65.

IT index lost 0.53 per cent to 6,242.98, Consumer Durables index 0.53 per cent to 5,760.96 and FMCG index 0.46 per cent to 3,490.64.

As the selling pressure spread over a wide-front, small cap index lost 0.25 per cent to 7,989.69 and mid cap index 0.07 per cent to 6,599.79.

sensex ends marginally higher

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today ended higher by 30 points after a volatile trade as investors indulged in adjusting their portfolios on easing political concerns and dropping crude oil prices.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed with a moderate gain of 30.30 points at 18,469.95. During the day, the barometer touched a high of 18,583.30 points and a low of 18,303.80 points.

In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed up by 10.2 points at 5,531 points.

Putting to rest political worries, the DMK, an ally of the UPA Government at the Centre, agreed to a seat-sharing deal with the Congress for the coming Tamil Nadu elections.

A better trend in the Asian region as cheer from a drop in crude oil prices also supported the market to some extent.

Crude oil prices fell from a 29-month high in the global markets, eroding inflationary concerns and reducing the fears of another interest rate hike.

Maximum support to the gauge came in from the realty, consumer durables, auto and power sector stocks, while a weak trend in healthcare and IT sectors on profit-selling mainly capped the gains.

Market leader Reliance Industries gained nearly 1 per cent which also supported the market.

The realty sector index gained the most by rising 1.74 per cent to 2,106.44 followed by consumer durables index 0.88 per cent to 5,791.41. The auto index rose 0.72 per cent to 8,854.54 and power index by 0.48 per cent to 2,597.79.

As investors indulged in adjusting their portfolios with low value strong stocks, small cap index rose 0.82 per cent to 8,009.65 and mid cap index 0.65 per cent to 6,604.72.

Nifty ends 58 points up; Bharti, Suzlon, ONGC gain

Indian markets ended on a positive note as easing crude oil prices and reports of efforts between DMK and Congress over seat sharing ahead of Tamil Nadu elections boosted sentiments. Oil prices fell over $2 per barrel after reports that OPEC was likely to boost oil production in order to stem rising prices.

Markets opened in the green taking cues from Asian peers and as buying emerged after profit booking in previous session. The benchmarks held on to their gains and moved higher towards the close of session as the DMK leaders met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

We believe the political environment will remain uncertain in the near term as various political parties shift positions in the run-up to assembly polls. This may keep financial markets volatile in the near term. However, medium-term performance of markets will still be shaped by the evolving macroeconomic outlook, said Edelweiss report.

Bombay Stock Exchange s Sensex ended at 18439.65 up 216.98 points or 1.19 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18266.62 and high of 18466.81 intraday.

National Stock Exchange s Nifty closed at 5520.80, up 57.65 points or 1.06 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5464.75 and high of 5530.55 in today s trade.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.97 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.76 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was up 1.90 per cent, BSE Metal Index moved 1.49 per cent higher and BSE Bankex moved 1.48 per cent up.

Sensex ends 264 points lower; auto, banks, realty down

MUMBAI: Indian markets ended in the red but off day’s lows as investors bought frontline stocks available near support levels. Concerns of interest rate hike due to inflationary pressure after spike in crude oil prices saw bears hammering stocks from rate sensitive sectors.

Fears of political instability back home due to fall-out between DMK and UPA government on seat-sharing hurt sentiments. According to reports, the talks between both the parties have resumed and some amicable solution with out ahead of forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

According to market experts the weakness is likely to continue in the near term due to weak economic data and political developments back home.

"On the international front, the events in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other Middle East countries have increased the Indian crude oil basket again to a $108 mark indicating a red flag on equity markets world over.Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18222.67, down 263.78 points or 1.43 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18058.71 and high of 18361.65 intraday.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5463.15, down 75.60 points or 1.36 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5408.45 and high of 5491.25 in today’s trade.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.41per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 1.43 per cent.Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index fell 2.55 per cent, BSE Capital Goods Index was down 2.36 per cent, BSE Realty Index moved 1.66 per cent lower and BSE Bankex declined 1.60 per cent.



To add to this, the fallout of the DMK withdrawal would again keep pressure on the Indian markets. With the political risks rising we believe that the government machinery will be less inclined to take decision, the direct of impact of which will be on a lot of infrastructure projects that needs green signals.

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Nifty ends volatile session on flat note

Indian equity benchmarks saw consolidation for another day on Friday, after the budget rally. The Nifty touched the 5600 mark in early trade today for the first time since January 28 on strong global cues. But as the day progressed those gains got completely wiped out on rising concerns on Libya and the index ended on a quiet note.
Worries on account of Middle East and North African political turmoil do not seem to be over yet though the London brent crude stabilised around USD 115-116 a barrel and crude oil around USD 102-103 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Amrita Sen, Assistant Vice President, Commodities Research at Barclays Capital sees extremely high volatility and choppy trade in crude. She says, "Oil infrastructure is not at risk and Bahrain is extremely important to watch out for."
Praveen Kumar, Head-South Asia (Oil and Gas Team), FACTS Global Energy expects crude to trade around USD 105 a barrel in 2011.
The United Kingdom has frozen nearly USD 3.2 billion of Libyan wealth fund assets, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting agencies. There were also some reports that rebels in North Yemen threw bombs and staged anti-government protests resulting in many being dead and wounded. The army used rockets on protesters, agencies reported.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell just 3.31 points, to close at 18,486.45 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 2.55 points, to settle at 5,538.75, after shedding more than 250 points and nearly 70 points from day's high, respectively.
For the week, both benchmarks rallied over 4.4%.
There was profit booking in the capital goods space - L&T, BHEL and Jaiprakash Associates cracked 2-3%. ITC and HUL from FMCG space declined around 1%.
SAIL, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries too were down nearly 1%. Among others, TCS, Bharti, ONGC, Wipro and ICICI Bank were down 0.3-1%.
However, heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Infosys, SBI, HDFC, HDFC Bank and NTPC were quite supportive with 0.5-1% gain.
Reliance Power was the top gainer with 7% gain followed by Tata Power, which gained nearly 3%.
In midcap space, Essar Shipping gained another 10% today as Gujarat HC approved demerger of Essar Shipping Ports yesterday. Company said demerger process would be completed in about a month.
Motilal Oswal, PTC India, Deccan Chronicle and Stride Arcolab gained 4-6% while Ramky Infra, Money Matters, Gammon India, Jindal PolyFilm and Phoenix Mills fell 5%.
In smallcap space, Rane Holdings, Jindal Worldwide, Vindhya Telelink, Lloyds Metals and Prime Securities rallied 8-10% whereas SML Isuzu, VST Tillers, TTK Healthcare, Allied Digital and R M Mohite lost 5-7%.
Oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC gained 1-2% as government sought parliament nod for sanction of additional Rs 21,000 crore for compensating oil marketing companies for under-recoveries, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting Reuters.
About 1286 shares advanced as against 1416 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
On the global front, Asian markets ended 0.5-1.7%. European markets were trading higher by more than 0.5%, at the time closing of Indian equities.

Demat account

The term Demat, in India, refers to a dematerialised account for individual Indian citizens to trade in listed stocks or debentures, required for investors  by The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In a demat account, shares and securities are held electronically instead of the investor taking physical possession of certificates. A Demat Account is opened by the investor while registering with an investment broker (or sub broker). The Demat account number is quoted for all transactions to enable electronic settlements of trades to take place.

Access to the Demat account requires an internet password and a transaction password as well as initiating and confirming transfers or purchases of securities. Purchases and sales of securities on the Demat account are automatically made once transactions are executed and completed.