Nifty ends 5% down; 'Sell in May, go away' comes true again
31 May 2012
After being down in the dumps for the better part of day, Indian equities staged a smart late trade recovery on hopes of a RBI rate cut to revive the sagging economy. Also, gains in European shares aided the recovery.
The country's economic growth slumped in the January-March quarter to a nine-year low of 5.3% as the manufacturing sector contracted and a fall in the rupee to a record low suggests the economy remains under pressure in the current quarter.
The old wisdom "Sell in May and Go Away" strategy certainly held this year with benchmark index Nifty shedding close to 6% in the current series.
The Sensex closed at 16218.53 down 93.62 points or 0.57% and the Nifty shuts shop at 4924.25 down 26.50 points or 0.54%. The breadth of the market was negative. About 1199 shares advanced, 1393 shares declined, and 832 shares remain unchanged.
Interest rate sensitive realty stocks reversed intraday losses on hopes of rate cuts. Cement stocks ended with gains ahead of announcement of May 2012 shipment figures by cement companies starting tomorrow, 1 June 2012.
Asian Paints, IDFC, SAIL, Jaiprakash Associates and PNB were top gainers on the Nifty.