Thursday May 23, 03:30 PM
War phobia... |
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By Equitymaster.com
The bourses continued to display pessimism for the 4th day running. Heated exchanges on the Indo-Pak borders and the cloud of an impending war have dealt a deathly blow to investor sentiment. The Sensex has lost nearly 7% so far this week.
The BSE Sensex closed at 3,108 (down 67 points) and the NSE Nifty closed at 1,025 (down 20 points). The rupee was trading at Rs 49.04 per US dollar.
The disinterest in investor sentiment can be made out from the fact that only 6 stocks gained in the BSE 30 Sensex. On the NSE Nifty, there were only 9 gainers. Out of those 9, almost 8 counters were up only marginally (less than 1%).
All index heavyweights were in the red. Reliance (RELI.BO, news) , RPL, Tisco, HLL, ITC (ITCd.BO, news) , Infosys, Bajaj Auto (BJAT.BO, news) , Satyam and the list goes on. FMCG major, HLL, closed Rs 200 to close at Rs 188 (a fall of 4%). Tobacco major, ITC, lost nearly 7%. Though the company has declared FY02 results as per expectations, the markets seemed disappointed with its dividend payout. Also, the company operating margins have shown a decline of 260 basis points to around 38% in FY02, as a result of the Bhadrachalam merger. At Rs 581, the counter is trading close to its 52 week low of Rs 574.
Glaxo was among the major gainers today. There was news that henceforth, it will market products of its subsidiary, Burroughs Wellcome. The stock finished up 2.8%.
Many pivotals are trading at near their lows. However, market circles opine that the mood of the bourses depends on the PM's conference speech later in the evening. The Sensex has a strong resistance level at 3,100. But if it breaks that barrier then the next support level would be 3,040.
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