Post Market report on 18.06.2008

[B. Karthick]

India Stocks Review: End down 2% on profit sales; banks worst hit

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Bombay Stock Exchange : National Stock Exchange
Sensex: 15422.31, dn 274.59 pts (1.8%) : Nifty: 4582.40, dn 70.60 pts
(1.5%)
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Key share indices ended down nearly 2% as investors booked profits
in
most index heavyweights after they had gained over 3% in the past two
sessions.
Local shares opened on a positive note, helped by a recovery in
most
key Asian markets, but slipped into negative territory on profit
sales. A
fall in European indices also weighed on sentiment.
Sensex ended at 15422.31, down 274.59 points, or 1.8%, from
Tuesday.
Intraday, it moved between 15390.22-15789.62.
Nifty closed below the 4600-mark at 4582.40, down 70.60 points, or
1.5%,
after moving in the 4569.90-4679.75 range intraday.
Total volume on BSE and NSE combined was 185 bln rupees today
against 162
bln rupees in the previous session.
Investors also sold shares after Royal Bank of Scotland advised
clients
to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets
over the
next three months as inflation defines the moves of major central
banks.
Political worries also continued to loom large here after the
meeting of
the Left-United progressive Alliance panel on the Indo-U.S. nuclear
deal was
deferred.
Bank shares, which had risen for two straight sessions on a
combination
of value buying and short covering boosted by robust Apr-Jun advance
tax
numbers, were worst hit in today's session due to profit sales.
State Bank of India and HDFC Bank ended down 3% and 4%,
respectively.
ICICI Bank ended down over 4% at 787 rupees.
Technology shares, which have recently been among investors'
favourites
as a defensive bet in an uncertain market, also ended down.
HCL Technologies, down 4.5% at 279 rupees, was the worst hit on
Nifty.
Aurobindo Pharma ended down 5% after it reported a slight fall in
Jan-Mar
net profit, and as there was no news of a share buyback that the
street was
expecting.
Investors also booked profits in Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel,
Unitech,
and DLF, among others.
Value buying lifted shares of frontline cement counters like Grasim
Industries and ACC 3% and 1%, respectively. Ambuja Cements, up nearly
4% at
91 rupees, was the top Nifty gainer.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises, up 3%, led the media pack higher,
after
the firm said it plans to hive off Zee Next into a separate entity.
GSS America Infotech also held onto gains, ending up 6.5% at 320
rupees,
on a report the company is eyeing 5 bln rupees in revenue by 2010-11
(Apr-
Mar).

End

KEY MARKET MOVES
* In the Nifty, 10 rose and 40 fell.
* In the Sensex, 9 rose, and 21 fell.
* On BSE, there were 1,254 advances and 1,402 declines.
* BSE Realty: Down 3.5%; Bank Nifty: Down 3.5%; CNX IT: Down 2.3%.
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Bombay Stock Exchange : National Stock Exchange
Sensex: 15422.31, dn 274.59 pts (1.8%) : Nifty: 4582.40, dn 70.60 pts
(1.5%)
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B.Karthick,
Research Analyst.