Indian shares end lower for third day on profit taking

Tuesday, 16 September 2003, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: India's blue-chip share market index finished in the negative zone Monday, extending its loss to the third consecutive session, as investors rushed to pocket gains on heavyweight counters after sharp recent gains. Dealers said the market opened wobbly and dropped nearly one percent in the early trade on institutional sell-off encompassing new as well as old economy shares after the bull-run in last few weeks' trade. The stock market index moved within a close range for better part of the trading session in the second half on alternate bout of selling and select buying in a highly volatile trade. It the end, the market barometer 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index or Sensex closed at 4,193.83, a loss of 112.08 points or 2.6 percent from its previous session's close. "A sustained correction on the bourses was long overdue. The correction will give investors the opportunity to consolidate their portfolio and pare excessive exposure on some heavyweight counters," said a market analyst. "The trigger for the correction has been provided by a slowdown in investments by foreign institutional investors. Large-scale foreign fund inflows was mainly driving the market rally all these days," the analyst added. The market ended 1.44 percent lower last week after gaining nearly 20 percent in the last seven consecutive weeks. The rally in seven consecutive weeks was triggered by investors rushing to pick up heavyweight shares on hopes that a sharp economic rebound in the current fiscal year would boost financial results of corporate houses. The rally on the bourses helped the key share market index to register a gain of 27 percent since the beginning of the current calendar year till Friday. It also gained over 47 percent since touching a six-month low on April 25. Dealers say the overall market continues to be positive and after a short-term technical correction the blue-chip equities would against chart an upward trend on higher economic growth hopes. In the technology sector, HCL Technologies, a New Delhi-based software development and services major, fell nearly 18 percent to 161.40 following lower-than-expected financial result announced by the company. HCL Technologies said, after market closure Friday, its net profit in the quarter ended June 30 rose 11.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.01 billion. Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer lost nearly three percent to touch 228.85 and Infosys Technologies, India's largest listed software exporter, closed with a loss of 2.9 percent at 4,027.55. In the old economy sector, state-run oil giant Hindustan Petroleum Corporation ended nearly eight percent at 390.35 on profit taking ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on the privatisation of the company. Shares of cement companies such as Associated Cement Companies lost 5.8 percent to touch 195.45, Gujarat Ambuja Cements was down 4.9 percent at 216.55, and Larsen and Toubro closed with a loss of 2.4 percent at 294.05. Other major losers in the sector included Grasim Industries, Ranbaxy Laboratories, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, ITC, Hindustan Lever, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Hero Honda Motors.
Source: IANS