BSE Sensex down by 41.01 points

Mumbai, June 15: After a firm opening that lasted till mid-afternoon, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex shed 41.01 points to close in the red today at 14,162.71, as selling emerged at higher level in the closing session.

''The late fall is in contrast to the firmness in global equities. The inflation data was encouraging. India's wholesale price index has slipped further by 4.80 per cent in the 12 months till June 2 this year, lower than the previous week's record of 4.85 per cent, due to a decline in food and energy prices.

However, unexpected selling in the last session ensured the fall of the Sensex,'' market analysts said.

After opening firmer at 14,277.61 from its previous close of 14,203.72, it had moved between 14,326.55 and 14,112.53.

Interestingly, deviating from the trend, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Index settled in the green with a paltry gain of 1.45 points at 4,171.45 from its previous close of 4,170.00.

However, it had opened much higher at 4,186.40 to reach an intra-day high of 4,209.45 and a low of 4,153.70.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4,204 crore. Market analysts explained that the market breadth was positive here as buying continued for small-cap and mid-cap stocks for the second straight day. 1,302 shares have advanced as compared with 1,273 that declined, while 93 remained unchanged. Among the Sensex pack, 18 declined while the rest advanced.

The Rupee today slipped against the US currency and was quoted near 41-level in late morning deals due to fairly good import coverings amid slowdown in foreign institutional investors (FII) inflows into equity markets, dealers said adding that FIIs were net buyers of approximately Rs 34.13-crore equities, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares nearly worth Rs 32.57 crore yesterday.

The prominent losers today were SBI, HDFC, NTPC, Hindalco, Reliance Industries (RIL), Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Satyam Computers.

The winners included BHEL, Ranbaxy laboratories, L&T, and Maruti Udyog.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) left its assessment of the economy unchanged in a monthly report. The central bank's policy board also kept interest rates unchanged at 0.5 per cent at a meeting that ended today. It also maintained its outlook that the economy will continue expanding moderately.

Asian and European markets edged higher today. Hang Seng rose by 0.72 per cent to 21,217.05), Nikkei 225 was up 0.72 per cent to 17,971.49), Straits Times was up 0.22 per cen to 3,581.16, Shanghai Composite rose by 0.43 per cent to 4,132.69) and Taiwan Weighted up 1.45 per cent to 8,573.64).

European markets were also trading higher. FTSE 100 was up 0.55 per cent to 6,686.20), MIBTel rose by 0.32 per cent to 33,359) and CAC 40 was up 0.38 per cent to 6,069.91.

The US treasury market continued to show signs of stabilising, helping Asian and European equities extend their gains. Rising US bond yields had weighed on global markets earlier this week.

Wall Street surged again yesterday, launching the Dow Jones industrial average to its best two-day advance since last July after data showed that wholesale inflation, excluding energy and food costs, is rising at a gentle pace.

The Dow Jones rose 71.37 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 13,553.72.

Broader stock indicators also rose with the Standard&Poor's 500 index advancing by 7.30 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 1,522.97, and the Nasdaq composite index climbed 17.10 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 2,599.41.

Crude oil traded near a nine-month high in New York after a drop in US refining raised concern that fuel supplies may remain below average. Crude oil for July delivery was at USD 67.64 a barrel, down 3 cents in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

UNI