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Shares end lower for sixth day on war jitters
Tuesday, 11 March 2003, 20:30 IST
MUMBAI: India's blue-chip market index finished lower for the sixth consecutive session Monday with domestic as well as foreign investors deciding to steer clear of the trading ring on fears of a possible war in the Middle East.
Mirroring the bearish sentiment, the stock market barometer 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index or Sensex closed at 3,125.88, a loss of 27.18 points or 0.86 percent from Friday's close.
The market index has plunged 4.8 percent in the last six trading session, as institutional investors dropped both new as well as old economy heavyweights on fears that a war in the Middle East would impact Indian economy.
"At this stage, it is pretty conclusive that a war against Iraq is imminent. The market has been expecting this for some time now," said Neeraj Deewan, a senior analyst with Prime Securities.
"Most of the heavyweight counters have been badly battered in the last few sessions' trade on fears of war. And this is just the beginning. Once the war starts, we will see a sharp crash in the market," Deewan told IANS.
Analysts and market traders say a war in the Middle East would send the blue-chip shares listed on the Indian bourses into a prolonged bearish grip, forcing domestic as well as foreign investors to steer clear of the trading ring.
American Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. is close to winning enough votes in the U.N. Security Council to authorise military action against Iraq.
The U.S. and Britain have massed at least 225,000 troops in the Middle East with a view to carry out an invasion to strip Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction and oust its leader Saddam Hussein.
The war fears have forced foreign institutional investors to sharply pare their exposure on the domestic bourses.
Foreign institutional investors have sold shares for a net $10.6 million in March so far. Their investments had dropped to $84.6 million in February after net inflows of $221.4 million in January.
In the technology sector, HCL Technologies, a New Delhi-based software development and services major, lost 4.7 percent to touch 
147.70 and Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer closed with a loss of 2.6 percent at 200.20.
Counters such as Polaris Software, NIIT, I-flex Solutions, SSI, Mascot Systems, Digital GlobalSoft and Wipro also ended lower on selling pressure.
Infosys Technologies, India's largest listed software exporter, on the other hand, managed to buck the trend and closed with a moderate gain of 0.6 percent at 4,044.75 on value buying.
In the old economy sector, two-and-three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto fell 2.9 percent to 484.55 on rumours that the company may not meet its vehicle sales target of 1.5 million units for the year ending 31 March 2003.
Hindustan Lever, India's biggest consumer goods maker, lost 1.5 percent to touch 161.65, Reliance Industries was down 1.6 percent at 276.65 and State Bank of India, the country's largest commercial bank, ended 1.3 percent lower at 275.
Other major losers in the sector included tobacco giant ITC, state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Associated Cement Companies, Larsen and Toubro, and Gujarat Ambuja Cements.
Source: IANS
147.70 and Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer closed with a loss of 2.6 percent at 200.20.
Counters such as Polaris Software, NIIT, I-flex Solutions, SSI, Mascot Systems, Digital GlobalSoft and Wipro also ended lower on selling pressure.
Infosys Technologies, India's largest listed software exporter, on the other hand, managed to buck the trend and closed with a moderate gain of 0.6 percent at 4,044.75 on value buying.
In the old economy sector, two-and-three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto fell 2.9 percent to 484.55 on rumours that the company may not meet its vehicle sales target of 1.5 million units for the year ending 31 March 2003.
Hindustan Lever, India's biggest consumer goods maker, lost 1.5 percent to touch 161.65, Reliance Industries was down 1.6 percent at 276.65 and State Bank of India, the country's largest commercial bank, ended 1.3 percent lower at 275.
Other major losers in the sector included tobacco giant ITC, state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Associated Cement Companies, Larsen and Toubro, and Gujarat Ambuja Cements.
Source: IANS