A regulatory turf war over selling unit-linked insurance policies (Ulips) and February industrial output figures which turned out to be below expectations helped snap the market?s winning rally, with the markets losing ground on Monday. The 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed 80.14 points down at 17,853, while the broader S&P CXN Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) lost 22.05 points, ending at 5,339.70.
Deven Choksey, MD of KR Choksey Securities said: ?There was some fear over the row between the regulators. However, fundamentally, there is nothing to worry about and we are likely to witness a rally in the coming days.? The IIP for the month of February stood at 15.1% as against 16.7% on a month-on-month basis.
Foreign institutional investors (FII) continued buying, with net purchases of Rs 14.41 crore, according to BSE?s provisional figures. In 2010, FIIs have invested over $5.23 billion, the bulk of which came after the Budget. Among BSE?s sectoral indices, FMCG and realty were top performers, while auto and Bankex ended in red. Ambareesh Baliga, vice-president at Karvy stock broking said: ?Apart from the regulators? clash, markets also reacted negatively to the IIP numbers. Market feared that if no new Ulips came into the market, there could be some problems, as during turbulent times, insurance money acts as a cushioning factor.? NSE?s cash segment reported a turnover of over Rs 12,300 crore, down 10.19% against previous session, while the average daily turnover in the last six months stood at around Rs 14, 900 crore.