Marginal Fall In Indices Due To Profit-Taking

The trading sentiment on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) remained firm yesterday mainly on account of hectic activity witnessed at the Reliance and Telco counter. The NSE-50 index closed marginally lower at 1158.35 against the previous close of 1159.80, a loss of 1.45 points.

The Midcap index closed at 1191.65 against the previous close of 1192.05, a loss of 0.40 points. The total traded turnover on the exchange went up to Rs 2,571.39 with 8.29 crore shares changing hands. The Reliance counter witnessed hectic buying, riding on the news of bonus issue. The Reliance scrip closed at Rs 359.90 against the previous close of Rs 341.90 with the traded turnover touching 909.39 crore.

The prices of key pivotals gradually declined during the course of the trading session. Market sources attributed the minor fall in the indices to profit-taking by the punters as it was the last day of settlement on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

There market is in for another correction. The last settlement day on the NSE is likely to pull down the market a bit, said an NSE dealer. The major gainers were IFCI which closed at Rs 31.10 (Rs 29.10), Tata Chemicals at Rs 164.85 (Rs 155.70), Reliance Capital at Rs 56.15 (Rs 53.90) and TVS-Suzuki which closed at Rs 449.80.

Market sources informed that the FIIs funds are now targeting the Fera stocks in the B group. The ITC scrip closed at Rs 507.65 as against the previous close of Rs 504.95 with the total traded turnover touching 308.45 crore. Among the top five losers were, Oriental Bank of Commerce which closed at Rs 73.30 against the previous close of Rs 76.70, Bhel at Rs 375.75 (Rs 392.80), Essar Steel at Rs 13.90 (Rs 14.45), Castrol at Rs 502.60 (Rs 521.45) and Indian Hotels at Rs 625.00 (Rs 643.55).