Reliance halts 7-day rally in markets; Sensex down 46 points

A fall in country's most valued company Reliance Industries (RIL) dragged down benchmark index Sensex by 46 points, cutting short the long 7-day rally.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened on a strong note and surged 105 points in the first hour of trade -- before the start of annual general meeting of Mukesh Ambani-led RIL.

Brokers said markets could not hold on to the gains for long and swung into losses as Mukesh's unveiling of multi- billion dollar investment plans in the power sector failed to enthuse investors.

The barometer finally ended the day by 45.87 points or 0.26% lower at 17,570.82. The 50-share Nifty Index of the NSE too ended 0.23% at 5,262.60 points.

The key index had notched up nearly 1,000 points, or 6%, in the past seven trading sessions and had regained the 17,000 mark.

"The Indian markets snapped its longest winning streak in over 10-months on Friday," brokerage firm India Infoline's (IIFL) VP (Research) Amar Ambani said.

Markets had built up huge expectations ahead of the Reliance Industries AGM, after the Ambani brothers burying the hatchet after five years of feud. Investors were agog that RIL would unveil the quantum of investment in the power sector.

"Investors seemed to be disappointed with Mukesh Ambani's speech at the company's AGM. He did not make the kind of announcement that the market had been speculating in the wake of the truce between the two Ambani brothers," IIFL's Amar
Ambani said.

RIL, which carries the maximum weight in Sensex, took a hit of 1.5% as came under intense selling.

"Investors were expecting announcement on the quantum of investment in the power sector. Market enthusiasm got subdued as Mukesh did not announce anything big which investors were not aware of. People were awaiting clarity on investment size," Angel Broking vice-president Sarabjit Kour Nangra added.

Some selling pressure was also seen in the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group pack. RComm sank 3.58% and was the biggest loser in Sensex components. RelInfra lost 3%, RNRL 7.5%, RelCap 3.94% and RPower 3.61%.

Country biggest private sector lender ICICI Bank lost 1.91%. There were rumours yesterday that a US firm has filed a $1 billion law suit against the lending major, which said there was no substance to the reports.

On the sectoral front, metal, oil & gas, auto and realty were the big losers, while consumer goods, FMCG and IT indices managed to end in green.

Sterlite Industries declined 2.34%, Hindalco 0.72%, Maruti Suzuki 2%, M&M 1.96%. Hero Honda, which was battered in the past few trading sessions, today bounced back and jumped 1.81% to emerge as the biggest gainer on the Sensex.

Other top gainers in the Sensex pack were HUL, which rose by 1.72%, while BHEL climbed by 1.72%, L&T by 1.29% and SBI by 1.17%. ITC, which today announced the bonus issue of shares in the ratio 1:1, ended 0.12% higher at Rs294.20.

Most of the sectors saw mixed trading and stock specific action was more prominent.

On the global front, Asian bourses ended mixed, while Europe was trading in the green at mid-session.