(RTTNews) - Monday, the Indian market ended sharply lower for the day amid considerable volatility due to weak cues from the rest of the global markets, the public holiday on Thursday and the expiry of December series derivatives contract on Wednesday.

However, on the BSE, the market breadth was slightly positive led by gains in small-caps and mid-cap stocks. Totally, 1276 stocks rose, while 1258 stocks ended in the red.

Stocks across the sectors ended mixed. Consumer durable stocks attracted good buying support, while oil/gas and banking stocks ended deep in the red. FMCG, public sector and realty stocks received selective buying.

The market moved choppily for the first few hours due to selective buying on expectations of a second fiscal stimulus package by the government and profit taking by investors.

Selling pressure pushed the key indexes sharply down in the second half of the trading after the rest of the Asian markets slipped into negative territory and the European markets opened on a subdued note.

The BSE Sensex closed at 9,928, down 172 points or 1.70%, while the S&P CNX Nifty ended at 3,039, down 38 points or 1.24%. On the other hand, the broad-based BSE 500 index fell 1.19%, the small-cap index declined 0.24% and the mid-cap index slipped 0.13%.

ICICI Bank (down 5.49%), Reliance Industries (down 4.78%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 4.55%), Maruti Suzuki (down 4.55%), HDFC Bank (down 3.01%), Reliance Infrastructure (down 2.85%), BHEL (down 2.44%), Jaiprakash Associates (down 2.02%) were some of the major decliners.

However, Tata Motors climbed 4.91%, DLF surged up 2.73%, Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 2.05%, ITC advanced 0.87%, Tata Power gained 0.52%, Grasim Industries added 0.35% and ONGC ended up 0.13%.

Stocks in News

Reliance industries slumped 4.78% on reports that eight American lawmakers have asked the Export-Import Bank of United States to immediately suspend all financial assistance to Reliance Industries till it agrees to stop selling gasoline to Iran.

Cairn India surged up 4.71% after the company said it has made an oil and gas discovery at about 1.5 kilometers east of its Mangala, Aishwarya, Raageshwari and Saraswati development area in Rajasthan.

BGR Energy Systems rose 2.25% after it has forged a technical collaboration and license agreement with Italy-based Termomeccania Ecologia for condensate polishing plants in India.

Indian Hotels gained 2.0% and EIH added 0.11% after the hotels owned by these companies, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Trident re-opened on Sunday after three weeks of temporary closure for restoration works following terrorist attacks in Mumbai last month.

BHEL shed 2.44% even as it won a contract worth Rs.1175 crore from Jaiprakash Power Ventures to set up a 500-megawatt thermal power plant in central India.

Northgate Technologies soared 4.95% after the company said that foreign fund Swiss Finance Corporation Mauritius has increased its stake in the company to 6.53% following an acquisition of 6.93 lakh shares from the open market on 12th December.

Aurobindo Pharma climbed 9.43% after it has received nod from the Medicines Control Council of South Africa to manufacture and market four products in the central nervous system segment in South Africa.

Pyramid Saimira plunged nearly 10% to Rs. 67.90 after the company denied reports that the Sebi has asked it to make an open offer to shareholders at Rs.250 per share.

Tata Motors gained 4.91% on reports that the company has agreed to inject “tens of millions” of pounds into Jaguar Land Rover to prevent an immediate cash flow crisis. Unitech rose 3.39% following reports that ITC, Accor and some high net worth individuals are in the race to acquire its six hotel properties.

Maytas Infra plunged 10.0% even as the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday night
issued an order sanctioning Rs.121 crore for Maytas to construct a 30-km stretch of the state highway in Cuddapah district.

Fortis Healthcare added 4.87% after the company called for a board meeting on December 24 to consider and approve a proposal for raising funds by way of further issue of capital on a “Rights Basis” to existing shareholders.

Ranbaxy Laboratories ended up 2.05% on reports that it is planning to sell three of its manufacturing units in China, Vietnam and Malaysia as part of a strategy to rationalize its business portfolio and cut costs.

State Bank of India lost 1.03% and HDFC Bank plummeted 3.01% after the banks slashed their retail lending rates on home loans. Subex ended up 0.71% after the founders of the company decided not to exercise the warrants allotted to them last year.

Asian Markets

Markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended mostly lower on Monday following a mixed trend on Wall Street Friday and weak exports data in Japan.

South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.12%, China’s Shanghai Composite index slumped 1.52% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plummeted 3.34%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.57%.

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Posted in Categories: Eurozone, Japan, Releases, Stocks, Switzerland, USA.

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