Markets end weak; SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank top losers

27 May 2008

Markets have closed on a weak note. It opened higher following positive cues from Asian markets but was not able to sustain its gains at close. The BSE bank, consumer durable, realty, oil & gas indices witnessed heavy selling pressure. Capital goods, power and metal stocks have seen mild losses. However, IT, pharma and auto indices closed positive. Sensex lost 242 points and Nifty lost 73 points from day's high.

The Sensex was down 72.91 points or 0.45% at 16275.59, and the Nifty was down 15.25 points or 0.31% at 4859.80. About 1044 shares have advanced, 1879 shares declined, and 185 shares are unchanged.

The BSE midcap and smallcap indices have lost over 1%. Amongst midcap space, Jyoti Structures, BGR Energy, Brigade Enterp, Elecon Engg, SpiceJet, Gateway Distri, Oriental Bank, Bajaj Holdings, JSW Holdings and Bombay Dyeing were down over 4%.

Small cap stocks like Kirloskar Pneum, Elantas Beck, Emkay Shares, Greenply Ind, Prime Focus, Piramal Glass and BAG Films slipped over 5%.

Top losers on the bourses were SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC, ONGC, Unitech, Power Grid and Cairn India while Sataym, Cipla, Wipro, ITC and Sterlite Industries were top gainers.

The BSE Bankex fell 2.33% or 184.61 points at 7,754.64 led by selling in Oriental Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IOB, SBI, Union Bank and Federal Bank.