Sensex plunges by 99.40 pts, Nifty ends higher

Mumbai Jan 14: The sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today plunged by 99.40 points to close at 20728.05 on selling pressure amid high volatility. After resuming the day on a positive note at 20,918.23, the benchmark Sensex dived to low of 20,661.90, shedding 165.55 points in the mid-afternoon trade. Sensex hit an intraday high of 20,985.62 at the onset of the trading session and rose 158.17 points.

However, Nifty index at National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose 6.70 points to end at 6206.80. The broader based Nifty index, after opening on a positive note, slipped into negative zone at 6,179.15, and lost about 20 points from its previous close of 6,200.10 in the early trade. Nifty fluctuated between positive and negative gaps with a differece of atleast 60 points before ending in the green.

The market ended the volatile session in the red as index heavyweights ICICI Bank and Infosys Technologies drifted lower.

Reliance Industries and NTPC moved up, while Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, IT and consumer durables stocks slipped. The market breadth was positive. 19 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in red. Asian markets were mixed, while European markets were in green, traders said.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.04pc to 9,537.05 and BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.38pc to 12,869.30. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth was positive. On BSE, 1553 shares advanced as compared to 1301 that declined and 24 remained unchanged. The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 7033 crore as compared to Rs 8,018.66 at the previous close.

NTPC jumped up by 4.65 pc, Bharat Heavy Electricals gained 1.59 pc and HDFC Bank rose 1.45pc. India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) ended higher by 1.03 pc to Rs 2462.25 after its board approved a proposal to raise Rs 16,736 crore through a rights share issue. SBI will issue one share for every five shares held. The issue will be priced at Rs 1,590 each.

Bharti Airtel slumped by 6.05pc to Rs 907.30 after a rival company Reliance Communications was allocated Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications spectrum in 14 circles in India.

However, Maruti Suzuki slipped 4.87pc, Housing Development Finance Corporation declined 2.73pc, Mahindra&Mahindra shed 2.47pc and ACC fell by 2.46 pc.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.82 pc on reports that the company is venturing into synthetic fuels through a USD 6-8 billion project that will turn coal into oil.

The BSE Oil&Gas index rose 2.13pc to 14,126.83. It outperformed the Sensex. BPCL soared 7.42pc, Reliance Natural Resources gained 7.14pc, HPCL spurted by 4.75pc, Reliance Petroleum rose 2.50pc to and Essar Oil moved up 1.09pc.

The BSE IT index fell by 2.85pc. it underperformed the Sensex.

Infosys Technologies fell 3.16pc, Wipro slipped 5.05pc, TCS was down 2.86pc and Satyam Computers fell 2.76pc.

The BSE Consumer Durables index fell 1.46pc. It underperformed the Sensex. Videocon Industries fell 5pc to Rs 600.90, Gitanjali Gems declined by 1.19pc and Titan Industries ended marginally down.

UNI