By IANS,
Mumbai : A 14-week ride of the bulls was brought to a halt at the Indian equities markets as investors booked profits amid concerns that the recent rise was not backed by strong fundamentals. A key index lost 716 points over its previous weekly close.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell after rising for 14 consecutive weeks, losing 4.7 percent or 716.05 points over the previous Friday’s close and ended trade at 14,521.89.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) aped the Sensex, declining 5.9 percent from its last close to end at 4,448.95 points.
The BSE Sensex hit an intra-week high of 15,261 points and low of 14,179, while the Nifty hit an intra-week high of 4,601 points and low of 4,206.
Broader market indices also fell, with the BSE’s midcap index closing 5.28 percent lower than its previous weekly close, while the BSE smallcap index was down 6.6 percent.
Data with the markets watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), showed that foreign funds were net sellers during the week, having sold scrips worth $238.8 million.
Sensex started the week on a dismal note with dismal global cues and a court ruling against heavyweight Reliance Industries pulling it down by more than 362 points.
The Sensex, which opened lower than its Friday closing figure, dipped about 362.42 points or 2.38 percent to end at 14,875.52 points.
Like the Sensex, the Nifty too closed in the red, shedding 2.17 percent to close at 4,484 points.
The Indian equities markets ended trade on a positive note Tuesday after having come under selling pressure for most of the day. The Sensex rebounded from the red to post sizeable gains.
The Sensex, shut shop at 14,957.91 points, a gain of 82.39 or 0.55 percent from Monday’s close. It had hit an intra-day low of 14,621.91 points.
The Nifty too closed in the green, gaining 0.75 percent from its last close to stand at 4,517.8 points.
Markets saw heavy profit booking Wednesday, with the Sensex plummeting sharply in the last hour of trade owing to declines in realty and metal stocks.
The Sensex fell 435.07 points or 2.91 percent to end trade at 14,522.84 points, while the Nifty ended 3.58 percent lower at 4,356.15 points.
Investors continued to sell Thursday as well, with realty and metal stocks again taking a hit.
The benchmark Sensex fell 257.31 points or 1.77 percent from Wednesday’s close to end trade at 14,265.53 points. The Nifty too closed in the red, ending 2.4 percent lower at 4,251.4 points.
Markets bounced back Friday to end the trade on a positive note. The Sensex, which opened at 14,321.98 points, ended trade at 14,521.89 points – 256.36 points or 1.8 percent higher than Thursday’s close.
Similarly, the Nifty shut shop 1.46 percent up at 4,313.6 points.
The top gainers in the Sensex were Reliance Infra (up 6.9 percent), Cipla (up 5.7 percent), SBI (up 5.5 percent), Infosys (up 2.4 percent) and HDFC Bank (up 2 percent).
Among losers were Reliance Industries (down 13.6 percent), Hindalco (down 12.5 percent), ACC (down 11.4 percent), NTPC (down 10.6 percent) and ONGC (down 10.4 percent).