Sensex down 50 points after touching 30-month high
Analysts said weak cues in European bourses and lower opening of US futures prompted investors to book profits overlooking the positive domestic trends.
Extending the losses for the second successive day, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex closed 50 points lower today, with fag-end profit-booking in banking and auto stocks erasing early gains.The 30-share index closed down by 50.28 points, or 0.28%, at 17,878.14. Analysts said weak cues in European bourses and lower opening of US futures prompted investors to book profits overlooking the positive domestic trends.The wide-based National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty index, too, lost 0.34% to settle at 5,368 points.Markets surged in early trade on positive export data and the Asian Development Bank's upward revision of growth estimates for the region to 7.9%. The Sensex even touched the 30-month high of 18,040.17 points intra-day.Buoyed by rising exports and the impact of stimulus packages on Asian economies, the ADB today raised the growth forecast for the region to 7.9%, but retained the projection for India at 8.2% for 2010.Exports in June rose over 30%, reflecting increased economic activities.Analysts said investors were,however, better influenced by weak trends in European bourses which triggered profit-booking."Investors are trading very cautiously and the market is not able to break the range-bound trend. The market is waiting for bigger triggers to go forward," Networth Stock Broking's Head of Institutional Sales & Strategy Prakash Diwan said.ICICI Bank lost 1.22%, HDFC 1.24% and SBI 0.31%. HDFC Bank declined 0.29%, a day after it posted a 34% rise in its June quarter profit to Rs811 crore.Another casualty was auto stocks, with Tata Motors sinking 1.57%, M&M 0.88%, Maruti 0.15% and Hero Honda 0.21%.In the Sensex pack, 20 stocks ended with losses, while 10 managed to close with gains.Reliance Industries, which carries the maximum weight in the Sensex, ended 0.32% lower at Rs1,052.90.Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications, which had jumped 2.22% yesterday on stake sale reports, today lost steam and ended 1.52% down.Jaiprakash Associates plunged 1.74%, the most in the BSE-30, and Infosys 0.46%.However, realty, metal and consumer goods stocks attracted buying and, to some extent, capped the fall in the Sensex.DLF surged 2%, the most in the Sensex, followed by Sterlite Industries, which rose 1.53%. Wipro climbed 0.93% and L&T 0.53%.