Mumbai, Jan 25: Thanks to huge selling pressure in key index-based stocks,the Sensex shed 90.27 points on Tuesday. The combined onslaught ofsquaring-off of positions on the last day of settlement on the NSE (whichhad its impact on BSE), apprehensions of cross-border tension and apessimistic outlook on the rupee led to heavy selling pressure in keystocks.Dealers said that the institutions were generally unwinding from theiroverbought positions. Though there was selective buying in some counters,the tendency was more towards selling as speculators cut their longpositions, market sources said. Barring IT stocks, majority of the Sensexheavyweights showed a fall - ITC, Hindalco, ICICI, SBI, HLL, Ranbaxy,Reliance, MTNL, and Bajaj all of them showed substantial losses.
ITC hit the lower circuit, while market favourite Reliance too remainedweak, falling by nearly two per cent. The drop in MTNL's counter was morethan three per cent. ICICI and Bajaj Auto also showed a fall of more thanfive per cent each. Infosys and NIIT were the only two index scrips to closeon a positive note. While Infosys showed a marginal gain over its previousclose, NIIT hit the upper circuit. HDFC Bank and Wipro were two stocks whichhit the upper price band - in fact, the market is extremely bullish aboutWipro, which is expected to keep on increasing while HDFC Bank's resultsenthused the market.
The Sensex opened weak at 5412.49 points and dipped sharply. The intra-dayhigh for the Sensex was at 5430.29 points. Before closing at 5367.79 points,it dipped to a low of 5351.22 points. The net fall for the day was 90.27points.
The number of advances continued to be lower compared to the declines. Thenumber of advances was 877, whereas the number of declines was 1243. At thesame time, around 201 stocks remained unchanged. The trading volume for theday was Rs 3771 crore. While the Sensex lost 90 points, the IT sector showeda positive closing. Except an intial weakness, the IT sector showed strongbuying.
Stocks like Himachal Futuristic, Global Tele, Wipro, SSI, and HCL Technologyrecorded impressive gains. Telco, ICICI, Grasim, Dabur, Ceat, Pfizer,Padmini Poly, Peacok Industries, Diamond Cable, and Gujarat Flouro, andNational Radio showed substantial fall. In the specified list, stocks likeApollo Tyres, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Power, and Asian Paints showedhandsome gains. In the non-specified list, counters like Synergy Login,Sawca Communications, Filmcity Media, BSEL, GV Films, PCS, Nath Seeds,Principle Pharma, Federal Bank, Alphageo and Nalco remained the starperfomers.
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