Ahead of two days of trading holidays and just one more day to go before the settlement of October series of F&O contracts on Thursday, markets came under pressure today. Positive cues from other Asian markets in morning trades did not help improve the sentiment. Both frontline indices dropped soon after opening and lost around 0.8 per cent each. From then on, they moved sideways and remained within a tight range.

The Sensex closed with losses of 114 points at 12623 and the Nifty lost 27 points to end at 3657. Nifty October futures closed at a premium of 5 points to the spot index. Technology stocks were weak throughout the session, but they recovered partly in afternoon trades. Infosys was the worst performer, losing over 1.5 per cent. TCS also slipped nearly 1.5 per cent while Wipro closed more than a per cent lower. Satyam gave up nearly a per cent. ICICI Bank was the biggest loser among banking stocks, closing more than 2.5 per cent lower. PNB continued to lost ground and ended nearly 2.5 per cent lower. ABB, which gained more than 10 per cent in the last 2 trading sessions, slipped and was the worst performer among index stocks - closing more than 2.5 per cent lower. Among metals, SAIL lost well over 2 per cent and Hindalco closed nearly 2 per cent lower.

Tata Steel also lost close to 1.5 per cent lower. ITC remained weak and finally ended nearly 2 per cent lower. Among index heavies, Reliance lost over 0.5 per cent while ONGC gave up nearly 0.5 per cent. Cipla, IPCL and Gujarat Ambuja Cement were the other major losers among index stocks. Oil marketing stocks continued to rally on weak crude oil prices. HPCL was the biggest gainer among index stocks, ending more than 2.5 per cent higher. BPCL added 0.5 per cent. HCL Tech had a weak opening, but recovered and rallied later. The stock ended more than 2.5 per cent higher Read more at: http://domain-b.com/investments/markets/rex_mathew/20061023_markets.htm
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