Imminent fuel price hike spooks market

MUMBAI: The stock market on Thursday shed 209.11 points, as investors sold auto and power stocks giving into fears that any hike in retail fuel prices would hit bottomlines of companies in these sectors.
    
Selling activity was also significant in refinery and banking counters, even as expectations of inflation, data of which is released on Friday, moving up weighed heavily on trading sentiment.
    
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer Sensex resumed higher at 16,666.03, but dropped to a low of 16,196.02 before concluding the day at a nearly one and half month low of 16,316.26, a fall of 1.27 per cent over Wednesday's close.
    
The 50-issue S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also dropped by 83.05 points or 1.69 per cent to 4,835.30 from previous close of 4,918.35.
    
The last day of May derivatives contract also contributed to the fall, as operators booked profit, besides sustained selling by foreign funds, despite firm global markets.
    
Capital goods counters attracted good buying support.
    
Besides China, most of the other Asian indices ended in the positive territory, while European markets were also tradind firm early morning.
    
Country's largest engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro spurted by 6.64 per cent due to announcement of a liberal 1:1 bonus issue and total dividend of Rs 17 per share for the year ended March 2008. The company reported nearly 38 per cent increase in net profit in Q4 March 2008 over the same period last year.

From the Sensex family, Tata Motors slumped the most by 8.22 per cent, followed by ACL at 6.05 per cent, M&M 5.52 per cent, SBI 3.62 per cent and Hindalco 3.54 per cent.

HDFC lost 3.24 per cent, NTPC 3.03 per cent, ICICI Bank 2.79 per cent, DLF 2.39 per cent, ONGC 2.38 per cent, RIL 2.19 per cent, REL 2.07 per cent, ITC 2.05 per cent and HDFC Bank 2.01 per cent.

However, L&T rose 6.64 per cent, Reliance Communications 3.92 per cent Cipla 2.98 per cent, Satyam Computer 2.30 per cent and Ranbaxy 1.77 per cent.

BSE-Auto tumbled by 151.22 points or 3.31 per cent to 4,410.81, Bankex by 214.69 points or 2.71 per cent to 7,718.81 and BSE-Oil&Gas by 206.49 points or 1.92 per cent to 10,571.42.

The market breadth remained negative as 1,537 counters ended with losses while 1,115 finished with gains on the BSE.

The trading volume improved further to Rs 6,230.43 from Rs 5,431.78 crore on Thursday. L&T topped the list of highest traded securities with a turnover of Rs 449.64 crore followed by IFCI (Rs 341.60 crore), Piram Life (Rs 281.87 Cr), Chambal Fert (Rs 223.53 crore) and Bajaj Fin (Rs 199.56 Cr).

The broader BSE-100 index fell back by 99.91 points to 8,648.73 from its last close of 8,748.64.

The BSE-200 index and the Dollex-200 were quoted lower at 2,030.02 and 788.93 at close, respectively, compared to their previous close of 2,052.11 and 798.07.

The BSE-500 Index declined by 65.72 points to 6,477.33 from 8,543.05 and the Dollex-30 ended down at 3,126.90 from 3,169.19 previously.