Sensex slumps 388 points on inflation, Egypt unrest (Weekly market review)
By IANSSaturday, February 5, 2011
MUMBAI - Bears continued the rampage at the Indian stock markets for the second week on persistently high inflation, that raises concern over economic growth, and unrest in Egypt.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), ended the week at 18,008.15 points, down 2.11 percent or 387.82 points from the previous week’s close of 18,395.97 points.
The benchmark Sensex had lost 611.56 points or 3.22 percent last week.
This week ended on an extremely volatile note. The 30-scrip index plunged 441 points Friday after gaining 358 points on the previous day.
The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange ended the week at 5,395.75 points, down 2.37 percent or 131 points.
Stocks got battered after the government said it had no quick solution to fix the problem of high inflation.
“You can’t expect that there is any magic wand or like Aladdin’s magic lamp that somebody rubs it and your problem is solved,” Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi Friday while reacting on persistent high inflation.
India’s annual food inflation shot up to 17.05 percent for the week ended Jan 22 from 15.57 percent during the previous week.
On the last trading day of the week, there was only one gainer on the 30-scrip Sensex: Bajaj Auto, up 1.27 percent at Rs.1,226.80.
Major losers included M&M, down 5.31 percent at Rs.668.35; ITC, down 4.23 percent at Rs.152.90; Reliance Infra, down 3.76 percent at Rs.678; and Tata Power, up 3.63 percent at Rs.1,183.
According to data available with market regulator SEBI, foreign institutional investors bought scrips worth $145.04 million Friday.
The market breadth was negative, with 873 stocks advancing compared to 2,003 scrips on the decline. A total of 106 stocks remained unchanged.
Realty, FMCG, IT and telecom scrips were among major losers while consumer durables saw some buying.
However, the most other Asian markets ended the week on the positive note. The Japanese Nikkei moved up 1.08 percent to close at 10,543.52 points.
The Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.81 percent and the Chinese Shanghai Composite index rose 0.30 percent.
European markets also ended in the green. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.23 percent at 5,997.38 the French CAC 40 rose 0.26 percent and the German DAX ended the week 0.31 percent higher.
