Markets ignore positives, end flat

Stock market indices were volatile in inraday trading and closed flat on Thursday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised India’s growth projection based on the likely positive impact of fiscal and monetary stimulus packages.

Positive news also came in the form of negative inflation for the fourth consecutive week at -1.55 per cent.

IMF has revised India’s growth projection upwards by 0.9 percentage points for calendar 2009 and 2010. The multilateral financial institution now expects the country’s economy to grow at 5.4 per cent in calendar 2009, compared with 4.5 per cent projected in April. In 2010, it is expected to grow at a much faster rate of 6.5 per cent.

The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex ended with a marginal loss of 11.69 points (0.08 per cent) at 13,757.46. The S&P CNX Nifty dipped by 2.05 points (0.05 per cent) to 4,080.95.

“Markets were range-bound after falling for two straight days. However, they will look for triggers from Infosys results, the G8 meeting and FM’s meeting with Sebi tomorrow,” said Anita Gandhi, head (institutional equity), Arihant Capital.

US markets closed flat yesterday. Both the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones closed marginally by 0.06 per cent and 0.18 per cent, respectively, ahead of the payroll and monthly inventories data.

Signals from Asian markets were mixed. While the Straits Times gained 2.12 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.38 per cent, down to a seven-week low. Others such as the Kospi was down 0.01 per cent and the Hang Seng was up 0.39 per cent.

The broader market breadth was negative. Out of a total 3,909 stocks traded, 2,194 stocks declined and 1,587 advanced. The remaining 128 remained unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices, metals, healthcare and FMCG gained around over 1 per cent each while consumer durables and capital goods were down by 1 per cent.

Reliance Infrastructure surged 2.45 per cent, Sun Pharma added 2.39 per cent and Sterlite gained 2.04 per cent, copper prices rebounded from its low.

Tata Motors dropped 3.15 per cent, ICICI Bank slipped 2.77 per cent. Among mid-cap stocks, Educomp Solutions soared 13.38 per cent after successfully raising Rs 607 crore via private placement. Alstom Projects, Ashok Leyland and ING Vysya Bank also soared by 9-12 per cent.