Markets close in the red

Reliance Industries, L&T and banks drag

Markets closed the last trading day of the week in the red with the Sensex down 124 points at 18,668 and the Nifty closed down 34 points at 5,684.

_________________

Markets extended losses in the afternoon deals on the back of negative global cues and selling pressure in heavyweights like Reliance Industries, L&T and banks. At 14:10, the Sensex was down 142 points at 18,650 and the Nifty slipped 47 points at 5,672.

In the broader markets, the smallcap index was down 0.2% and the midcap index was down 0.5%, outperforming the Sensex which lost 0.8%

Asian markets closed on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei share average topped the 9,000 level on Friday to log its best weekly gain in nearly a year as expectations of easing from the Bank of Japan and robust risk sentiment on the back of an improved global outlook softened the yen for the seventh day. The index was up 0.2% at 9,003.the only other market in the green was Hang Seng up 0.1%.Shanghai Composite closed down nearly 0.2% at 2,128.

In the European markets, CAC, DAX and FTSE opened in the red, losing 0.1-0.4%.

Back home, among the sectoral indices, Consumer Durables and FMCG indices were the only sectors in the green. Meanwhile, Power, Metal, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas, Bankex, Auto and Realty indices gave off 1% each.

Index heavyweight, Reliance Industries dipped by nearly 1%. Reliance Industries told analysts there has been “no significant improvement in ground-level decision making” which has impacted the business environment. The country’s largest private sector petroleum company has been peeved with the government for blocking of approvals and non-revision of gas prices produced from its underperforming KG-D6 block. 

The gainers among the Sensex-30 were ITC up 2% at Rs 297 after reporting a better-than-expected 21% year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 1,836 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012 on back of higher sales. Analysts on an average had forecast profit at Rs 1,724 crore from the fast moving consumer goods major.

The other notable gainers were Infosys, Wipro and Bajaj Auto adding 0.2% each.

Among the draggers were Gail India, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, Tata Power, BHEL and Sun Pharma losing 2% each. From the banking space, SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were down 1-1.5%.

In individual stocks, Exide Industries dipped nearly 8% to Rs 150, falling almost 10% from intra-day high after reporting a lower-than-expected net profit at Rs 120 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012 due to higher raw material cost and other expenditure. Analysts on an average had forecast profit at Rs 146 crore.

The market breadth was positive. 1165 stocks advanced  while 1578 stocks declined on the BSE.