It was a volatile session on the street today with the benchmark indices, the Sensex and the Nifty falling 0.7 percent. The BSE Sensex, the barometer of the Indian economy, fell by 120 points to 17,158.4 while the S&P CNX Nifty managed to closed just five points above the 5,200 level at 5,205. The BSE midcap and the small cap fell at a slower pace of 0.23 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,655 stock declined while 1,170 advanced. Among sectoral indices, bankex was the biggest loser with a fall of 1.3 percent followed by 1.14 percent and realty (one percent). Banking stocks fell after a Reserve Bank of India committee recommended tightening regulations on loan restructuring, including setting aside higher provisions. ICICI bank fell 1.7 percent, while HDFC Bank fell 1.1 percent.
Reuters
In the 30-share Sensex pack, 24 stock declined led by BHEL and Dr Reddy which fell more than two percent. RIL closed lower by 0.7 percent ahead of its results. Most analysts expect the company to report a decline in its earnings in April-June today.
A consensus of estimates by various brokerages have pegged consolidated net profit to decline around 22 percent to Rs 4,400 crore, year on year and sales are expected to rise around five percent to Rs 85,300 crore.
According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, sales are expected rise around 5 percent to Rs 85,300 crore.
A large number of companies also reported their June 2012 quarter results. They were Asian Paints, Zee Entertainment, JSW Energy, United Phosphorous, Hindustan Zinc, etc.
