Thursday May 16, 03:30 PM
Mood Red... |
|
By Equitymaster.com
Markets continued their downward trend on the back of selling in tech and FMCG stocks, notably index heavyweights. Buying interest remained selective with few PSUs attracting support. Select commodity majors also closed on a positive note. Auto stocks had a mixed day.
The BSE Sensex closed at 3,354 (down 42 points) and the NSE Nifty closed at 1,091 (down 17 points). The rupee was trading at Rs 49.05 per US dollar.
Zee was one of the top losers (6%). Ever since its fourth quarter performance, the stock has been on the decline after touching Rs 184 levels. While the standalone numbers do not look impressive due to a fall in advertisement revenues, consolidated results are good. Subscription revenues continue to grow robustly and with cable operators slowly hiking charges, Zee is set to benefit. But one has to keep in mind the management's past track record in mind.
Glaxo was also down sharply. While the restructuring initiative is a positive, topline growth continues to remain a cause of concern, as the parent is not keen to introduce new products. The stock was down 4%.
PSU stocks continue to find takers. SAIL, IPCL, ONGC, BPCL and HPCL were up. IPCL soared by almost 9% on disinvestment hopes. Indo Rama, Hero Honda (HROH.BO, news) , PSI, Gillette, Siemens (SIEM.BO, news) , Nestle, Rolta, Corporation Bank, Carrier Aircon, Hindalco (HALC.BO, news) , ITC (ITCd.BO, news) and Reckitt were also amongst key gainers.
HLL was down today (2%). The company has made a foray into the herbal segment by launching an herbal version of its flagship personal care brand 'Fair & Lovely'. The company hopes to gain a 10% market share of this Rs 20 bn market. Assuming that the company manages to achieve the target, as a percentage of sales, it would be insignificant.
Hero Honda was the sole gainer amongst auto stocks. Other two-wheeler majors like LML and TVS closed lower by more than 3%. Bajaj Auto (BJAT.BO, news) , after trading in the positive zone for most of the day, lost some of its gains towards the end.
|
