BSE Sensex down by 82.57 points today

Mumbai, June 18: The Sensex today slipped by 82.57 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to close in negative terrain at 14,080.14, as uncertainty prevailed over the latest ambiguous circular issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that failed to provide the much-needed clarity with regard to tax on profits arising from sale of shares Marketmen lamented that the circular dampened the mood here and the bourses ended with losses, inspite of encouraging Asian and global indices.

After opening with gains at 14,241.76, from its previous close of 14,162.71, the barometer index moved between 14,283.71 and 14,057.26 during the session.

The broader Nifty Index also shaved off 24.35 points on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to settle in the red at 4,147.10 from its previous close of 4,171.45 and reached an intra-day high of 4,208.15 and a low of 4,140.25.

The total turnover on the premier BSE amounted to Rs 3676 market analysts said and explained that the turnover was muted, indicating that the action might have shifted to the primary market.

It may be recollected here that a large initial public offer (IPO) of ICICI Bank opens for subscription tomorrow.

The market breadth turned negative here as small and mid-cap stocks succumbed to selling pressure. 1,323 shares have declined and 1,237 have advanced, while 68 remained unchanged, experts said and added that among the 30-scrip Sensex pack, 22 declined while the rest advanced.

The Rupee resumed higher at 40.75/76 per US dollar from last session's close of 40.85/86 per US dollar and later edged up to 40.74/7450 in late morning deals, dealers said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers of approximately Rs 44.78-crore equities, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth nearly 363.86 crore during the last trading session, dealers said.

Today's prominent laggards included Hero Honda Motors, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Ranbaxy, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Satyam Computers, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Reliance Industries (RIL) and BHEL.

The winners were Hindalco Industries, ICICI Bank and ONGC.

All Asian shares gained today as the yen's continued weakness against the US dollar lifted shares of exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp and Canon Inc. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2.69 per cent to 21,582.89, while Japan's Nikkei surged 0.99 per cent to 18,149.52.

Singapore's Straits Times was up by 1.19 per cent to 3,623.79 and South Korea's Seoul Composite rose by 1.95 per cent to 1,806.88.

Wall Street advanced again during the last trading session, after the week's most anticipated economic reading indicated that inflation excluding the price of gas remained tepid last month, easing some concerns that have jolted stock and bond markets in recent sessions.

The Dow jumped 85.76 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 13,639.48.

The Nasdaq Composite index, still well off its record levels reached during the dot-com boom, rose 27.30, or 1.05 per cent, to 2,626.71.

Crude oil was little changed in New York after rising to a nine- month high on concerns that US gasoline supplies are inadequate to meet peak summer demand. Crude oil for next month's delivery was at USD 68.10 a barrel, up 10 cents, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange today, dealers said.

UNI