The market continued to trade weak even as some Asian markets moved into the green from early fall. Bajaj Auto and State bank of India edged higher. Metal and fertilizer stocks were in demand. All the key BSE indices were in red. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks recovered from lower level. The market breadth was negative.
Asian stocks pared early losses after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority reached a deal to buy an equity stake in Citigroup. US stocks tumbled on Monday, 26 November 2007, as investors worried rising US mortgage defaults and credit market losses will drag on the US economy, fueling fears that US consumers will slash spending during the vital holiday season.
At 12:20 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 157.12 points or 0.82% to 19,090.42. The Sensex hit a low of 19,019.33 in morning trade. At day’s low, the Sensex shed 228.21 points.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 53 points or 0.92% to 5678.70.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.07% to 8,378.11, off session’s low of 8,310.55. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.41% to 10,385.49, off session’s low of 10,293.30.
The market breadth was negative. On BSE, 1374 stocks had declined, while 1208 stocks advanced and 64 stocks remained unchanged.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 1% to Rs 2854.25.
Reliance Petroleum dwindled 2.47% to Rs 199. Chevron Corporation, the No 2 US oil firm, said on Monday, 26 November 2007, it was evaluating its options for its stake in India's Reliance Petroleum in which majority owner Reliance Industries sold 4% last week. Chevron owns 5% in Reliance Petroleum and has an option to raise its holding to 29%.
The BSE Metal index was up 0.54% to 17,619.83. Hindustan Zinc jumped 6.58% to Rs 737, Jindal Stainless moved up 6.63% to Rs 230.10, Sterlite Industries was up 1.92% to Rs 914.05 and Steel Authority of India (Sail) gained 1.60% to Rs 269.40. Hindalco Industries was down 0.67% to Rs 193.
India’s largest steel maker by sales Tata Steel was up 0.88% to Rs 856.50. The company may reportedly pick up a 35% stake in its newly formed Mozambique joint venture for a consideration of Australian $100 million. Report suggests that the stake will help Tata Steel get exclusive rights to the coal being mined in the new coal mine and will use it as feedstock for its plants both in India and abroad.
Fertiliser stocks were in demand. Rastriya Chemicals & Fertilisers (RCF) jumped 3.90% to Rs 68, Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilisers moved up 3.60% to Rs 43.20, Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals rose 3.06% to Rs 64.05 and Tata Chemicals rose 2.80% to Rs 315.55.
The BSE Power index fell 1.22% to 4,323.34. Tata Power fell 3.55% to Rs 1137, Reliance Energy fell 1.74% to Rs 1758.50 and Torrent Power 2.06% to Rs 176. Neyveli Lignite was up 1.79% to Rs 230.
The BSE Bankex was down 1% to 10,484.76. ICICI Bank was down 2.47% to Rs 1129, Federal bank was down 2.71% to Rs 325, Punjab National Bank fell 1.85% to Rs 588.50, and Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 1.60% to Rs 112.50.
India’s largest commercial bank State Bank of India was up 1.33% to Rs 2272.
State-run Allahabad Bank was up 0.99% to Rs 112.70 on reports that the bank has plans to buy about 74% of a small bank in Africa for up to $15-20 million.
Detergent maker Nirma jumped 7.05% to Rs 220.05 after it said it would buy US-based soda ash maker, Searless Valley Minerals Operations Inc and Searless Valley Minerals Inc.
Diversified firm Godrej Industries was locked at upper limit of 5% at Rs 243.60 after its board approved either selling or entering into partnership for its medical diagnostic business.
Among the side counters, Hexaware surged 13.57% to Rs 83.70, Ashok Leyland jumped 6.85% to Rs 43.65, Hinduja TMT was up 6.15% to Rs 583.80, Indian Oil Corporation was up 5.51% to Rs 532.85, and Syndicate bank was up 4.67% to Rs 103.
In Asia, key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 1.18% to 1.79%. South Korea’s Seoul Composite index was up 0.24% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.58%.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 237.44 points, or 1.83%, to close at 12,743.44 on Monday, 26 November 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index sank 33.48 points, or 2.32%, to 1,407.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 55.61 points, or 2.14%, to close at 2,540.99.
Bargain hunting had triggered a surge on the domestic bourses in the past two trading sessions. Earlier, FII sales caused by redemption pressure in their home countries and fears of a US recession arising from housing slump and credit crisis had spooked stocks across Asia over the past few days.
FIIs made heavy purchases in index-based futures on Monday, 26 November 2007, the day when Sensex had surged 395 points or 2.09% to 19,247.54 on the back rally across global markets. According to data released by the NSE, FIIs were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 2,098.07 crore and sold index options worth Rs 3.35 crore on Monday. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 50.70 crore and sold stock options worth Rs 0.32 crore. FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,043.70 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday.
FII outflow in November 2007, till 23 November 2007, reached Rs 4628.80 crore. FIIs had made heavy purchases in September 2007 and October 2007. FIIs had bought shares worth a net Rs 16132.60 crore in September 2007 and Rs 20590.90 crore in October 2007.
