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Friday November 20, 12:20 PM
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BSE Sensex down 0.4 pct; banks lead decline
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex (^BSESN : 16027.9 -14.28
) fell on Friday morning, led by losses in banks and weighed down by falls in Asian markets as investors shifted from riskier assets on concerns over the strength of the world economy.
Top lender State Bank of India (SBIN.NS : 1937.7 -12.6) down 0.9 percent and second-ranked ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK.NS : 810.25 -2.15) down 1.5 percent, after a finance ministry official said a bill to reform the insurance sector was unlikely to be cleared during the parliament's winter session.
"There were expectations built up that the insurance reforms will be a priority in this parliament session. Now, that it seems unlikely, SBI and ICICI are being knocked off," said D. D. Sharma, senior vice-president at Anand Rathi Securities.
"Besides, banks have run up a lot in last few months. So, when broader market falls, the stocks that outperformed are going to be hit the most," said Sharma.
The banking sector index is up 83 percent so far in the year, outperforming the main index which has risen more than 73 percent.
At 11:22 a.m. (0552 GMT), the 30-share BSE Index was down 0.43 percent at 16,713.75, with 24 components declining.
Top software services firm Tata Consultancy (TCS.NS : 734.55 -0.6) was down nearly 1 percent, while rivals Infosys (INFOSYS.BO : 2471 +0.1
) and Wipro (WIPRO.NS : 649.65 -4.65) shed 0.6 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
"Just like banks, IT too is under pressure as the stocks had performed exceedingly well in recent times, added Sharma.
The sector index has more than doubled so far in the year.
"All we are seeing is portfolio churning, There is lack of fresh buying as people are deterred by global cues," said Arun Kejriwal, director of research firm KRIS.
Asian shares were under pressure as investors locked gains in riskier assets after U.S. data raised fears that a global economic recovery could lose momentum.
In the broader market, losers were almost equal to the number of gainers, with 107 million shares changing hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The 50-share NSE (^NSEI : 4777.9 -14.75) index was down 0.4 percent at 4,967.10.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE
* Thermax was up 4.6 percent at 603.50 rupees. The engineering firm said it had received an order worth 4.77 billion rupees to set up a captive power plant for a ferro alloy unit in Orissa.
* NDTV Ltd rose 6.2 percent to 142.30 rupees. U.S. media firm Scripps Networks Interactive Inc said it would buy a majority stake in the broadcaster's lifestyle unit for $55 million.
MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME
* Suzlon Energy on 11.8 million shares
* Unitech on 6 million shares
* Mahindra Satyam (SATYAM.BO : 98.65 +1.1) on 1.9 million shares
(Reporting by Ami Shah; Editing by John Mair)
(For more news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)
