Us, Politics Hit Trend

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensex today finished at a six-week low of 3,466.29, down 49.82 points and its lowest close since February 7 as investors dumped technology stocks in light trades.

In the last four trading session the Sensex had lost 115.03 points. The refrain among dealers is that the sentiment remained bearish on account of the political turmoil and a sustained fall in the US markets.

The market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 850 to 494 amid a thin volume of 55.93 million shares, the lowest since November 13, 2001.

"The absence of institutional buyers is aggravating the situation," a dealer said, but added that bargain buyers are likely to emerge at around 3,200-levels.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty index also shed 15.25 points to wind up at 1,123.05.

Selling pressure was nearly across-the-board today, with technology stocks being the worst hit following the sustained fall on the tech-heavy US exchange Nasdaq on Monday. The Nasdaq composite index slipped by 38.91 points to 1,812.48.

Tangoing this, bellwether Infosys Technologies slipped 4.20 per cent to Rs 3,669.90 on amid fears that the company may issue a lower guidance of around 15 per cent-20 per cent growth for the Q1 of FY 2003, while announcing its Q4 results for FY 2002.

According to a dealer, the Unit Trust of India and a major foreign institutional investor were sellers on the counter.

Satyam Computer fell 4.64 per cent to Rs 260.95 and HCL Technologies shed 2.66 per cent to Rs 265.50 on sustained on amid fears that results for the March 2002 quarter may disappoint investors.

On other hand, Zee Telefilms recovered from a low of Rs 157.75 to Rs 162.45 before settling at Rs 158.60, down 0.47 per cent from its previous close.

State-run companies, on the other hand, bucked the slide. Chennai Petroleum (Rs 33.50) hit the 20 per cent upper limit of the circuit breaker on sustained buying.

Hindustan Zinc (up 3.33 per cent to Rs 37.25) rose afresh on selective buying, after the government evaluated the three bids for its 26 per cent stake in the company.

International carrier VSNL (up 2.13 per cent to Rs 182.25) swelled on renewed buying on reports that the initial public offer of Intelsat, in which the company owns 5.4 per cent stake, is likely to unlock a value of around Rs 2,400-2,500 crore for the company.

Private sector banking stocks also remained in the limelight. Bank of Rajasthan (up 10.75 per cent to Rs 11.85) rose on reports that it is in talks with two to three South-based banks for acquisition.

Global Trust Bank (up 2.50 per cent to Rs 26.65) gained ground on reports that ABN Amro Bank has expressed its interest in the Hyderabad-based private sector bank.

Meanwhile, heavyweights such as Reliance Industries (down 1.27 per cent to Rs 300.20), Hindustan Lever (down 0.65 per cent to Rs 229.50), Reliance Petroleum (down 0.76 per cent to Rs 26.25) and ITC (down 0.69 per cent to Rs 702.05) remained weak.

Two-wheeler stocks such as Hero Honda Motors (down 3.47 per cent to Rs 332.50) and Bajaj Auto (down 3.85 per cent to Rs 465.15) also declined on sustained selling pressure, after recent gains.

Cement counters such as Larsen & Toubro (down 2.58 per cent to Rs 181.55), Gujarat Ambuja Cements (down 2.50 per cent to Rs 204.75) and Grasim (down 1.22 per cent to Rs 288.30) ended lower amid fears of a slowdown in the demand for cement.