Post session - Quick review

The early recovery fizzled out from the Indian markets by the end of the trade and the day which started on an optimistic note that at least for consolation the final trading day of the year will have a bullish closing witnessed sharp selling pressure in the late trades and took the benchmark indices in the negative terrain with the BSE Sensex reporting its first annual decline in last three year. However,  there was cheer in other global markets and after the surge in US markets, most of the Asian markets too made a green closing, though the European markets made a mixed start and some of the indices were in red ahead of Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy approving spending cuts of 1.9 billion euros ($2.5 billion) at his second cabinet meeting.

Earlier the domestic markets made a positive start supported by gains in other global markets and within first half an hour touched the high points of the day after that the trade remained rangebound but very much in the positive territory. In the late noon session there was sudden spurt of selling in the market heavyweight Reliance Industries on the buzz that the company will be reporting 22-23% fall in its quarterly profit sequentially and the GRM of the company too were said to be declining for the first time. The development weighed on the whole market sentiments and other counters too started losing strength. Some resistance was seen in the IT and Capital Goods counter otherwise all the sectoral gauges lost for the day. However, the broader indices outperformed their larger peers; the market was dragged mainly by the selling in the heavyweights. Both the benchmark indices lost around 25 percent for the year, underperforming their other global counterparts, though the situation was even worse for the broader markets who lost over 30 percent for the year. Jitters remained in the seven IPO stocks that have been banned by SEBI recently, and they plunged for yet another day.

The market breadth on the BSE ended in negative; advances and declining stocks were in a ratio of 1329:1455 while 119 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex lost 103.16 points or 0.66% and settled at 15,440.77. The index touched a high and a low of 15,694.05 and 15,406.93 respectively. 7 stocks advanced against 23 declining ones on the index (Provisional)

The BSE Mid-cap index gained 0.48% while Small-cap index was up by 0.18%. (Provisional)

On the BSE Sectoral front, PSU up 0.98%, HealthCare up 0.81%, TECk up 0.47%, IT up 0.33% and Consumer Durables up 0.11% were the only gainers while Oil & Gas down 1.42%, Realty down 1.12%, Metal down 0.78%, Bankex down 0.77% and Auto down 0.49% were the top losers.

The top gainers on the Sensex were BHEL up 0.88%, Bharti Airtel up 0.76%, Infosys up 0.63%, Coal India up 0.45% and Wipro up 0.21%.

On the flip side, RIL down 2.79%, Tata Steel down 2.19%, Jindal Steel down 2.16%, DLF down 2.03% and HUL down 1.73% were the top losers in the index. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that the overall inflation would drop to 6% by March end. The statement of the FM came in backdrop of weekly food inflation declining well below one percent, to the lowest level since April 2006. The latest data from the government showed that food inflation stood at 0.42 per cent as on December 17. Food inflation numbers have been moderating every week since early November when it stood at double-digit.

Pranab Mukherjee said that 'If this trend continues then you will have (fiscal) year-end (headline) inflation around 6%... But it cannot be lower than 6% because inflationary pressure was higher in weeks before'.

The Finance Minister's projection of 6 per cent inflation by year-end is well below the 7 per cent forecast made by the Reserve Bank of india (RBI) which has projected it to fall to 7% by March 2012. RBI has hiked interest rates 13 times since March, 2010, to tame demand and curb inflation. But in a policy shift in its Mid Quarter Policy Review earlier this month, RBI stopped further hikes and hinted that the rate may be cut in case inflation moderates.

India VIX, a gauge for market’s short term expectation of volatility gained 1.84% at 27.11 from its previous close of 26.62 on Thursday. (Provisional)

The S&P CNX Nifty lost 29.20 points or 0.63% to settle at 4,617.05. The index touched high and low of 4,690.45 and 4,608.90 respectively. 17 stocks advanced against 33 declining ones on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Nifty were Cairn India up 3.40%, Reliance Communications up 2.94%, Sesa Goa up 2.06%, BHEL up 1.10% and Bharti Airtel up 1.00%.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank down 4.01%, IDFC down 3.91%, Reliance down 2.77%, Tata Steel down 2.27% and Reliance Power down 2.22% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading in red, with France's CAC 40 down 0.12%, Germany's DAX down 0.12% and Britain’s FTSE 100 down 0.18%.

Most of the Asian equity indices signed off the year 2011 on a positive note on Friday following a positive finish for Wall Street, with US employment and housing data hinting at a strengthening domestic economy. US jobless claims rose but held below the crucial 400,000 level for the fourth straight week, with the number filing for benefits during the past month hitting a three-year low.

Meanwhile, Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite surged over a percentage point shrugging of the country’s factory activity which shrank in December as demand at home and abroad slackened. The final HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI) reached 48.7 in December, slightly better than the 47.7 in November but lower than preliminary PMI of 49 released earlier this month, as new orders dropped.

However, Stock markets in Seoul remained closed on account public holiday.