Equities were under pressure Friday as investors squared positions tracking global markets which were down on concerns of challenging times ahead for global economy. Shares of Reliance Industries opened higher but failed to provide any support to the indices.
“The Dow closed negative and Asian markets are in the red as well. Yesterday we saw weak data related to jobless claims in the US, with claims being above analyst expectations. Microsoft too announced job cuts as well as poor results which led to the fall in in the US markets. Our markets might open flat and rally on the back of better than expected results from Reliance Industries. We recommend buying into the markets at lower levels,” said Religare report
At 10:30 am, Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 8744.64, down 69.20 points or 0.79 per cent. The index touched a low of 8719.01 and high of 8858.84.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 2697, down 16.80 points or 0.62 per cent. The broader index touched an intra-day low of 2684.40 and high of 2765.55.
“Trend deciding level for the day is 8855 / 2728 (Sensex/Nifty). If Nifty trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 8975 / 2766. However, if Nifty trades below 8855 /2728 for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 8659 – 8539 / 2668 – 2631,” said Angel Broking note.
More pain was seen in broader markets. BSE Midcap Index was down 1.49 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 1.08 per cent.
Aomngst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was down 2.33 per cent, BSE Metal Index fell 2.25 per cent and BSE IT Index slipped 2.25 per cent. BSE Oil&Gas Index was up 0.80 per cent.
Reliance Industries (2.04%), Reliance Communications (1.22%), Reliance Infrastructure (1.19%), HDFC Bank (0.67%) and ONGC (0.43%) were the top Sensex gainers.
Mahindra & Mahindra (-4.90%), Jaiprakash Associates (-4.23%), Wipro (-3.31%), Tata Power (-2.42%) and Tata Steel (-2.32%) were amongst the losers.
Reliance Industries reported 9.8 per cent dip in net profit at Rs 3501 crore for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2008 against Rs 3882 crore same quarter year ago. Net sales was down 8.8 per cent at Rs 31,563 crore for quarter against Rs 34,590 crore in the same quarter year ago. The gross refining margin was $10 per barrel, on expected lines.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks were down, led by technology companies and commodity producers, after Sony Corp forecast its first annual loss in 14 years and economists predicted China’s economy will slow further. The Nikkei fell 2.92 per cent, Hang Seng slipped 0.19 per cent, Kospi fell 1.90 per cent and Straits Times fell 0.45 per cent.
US stocks fell on Thursday, weighed down by Microsoft's proposed job cuts and disappointing earnings, while economic data showed further deterioration in the labor and housing markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.30 points, or 1.28 per cent, to end at 8,122.80, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 12.74 points, or 1.52 percent, to finish at 827.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 41.58 points, or2.76 percent, to close unofficially at 1,465.49.
