Weak Asian markets & selling force drag market down
Mumbai -- Fragile Asian markets and selling pressure in index heavy weights like SBI, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Reliance Industries and Infosys, dragged the market down. In the opening, the BSE 30-share Sensex has shed by 60 points at 11913 and NSE 50-share Nifty is down by 17 points to 3455. SAIL, Zee Telefilms, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, GAIL, SBI and Tisco are the key losers among the 50-scrips of Nifty.
Most of the Asian stocks were trading in the red territory Friday morning, struck by metals and mining stocks Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 100 points at 15,842. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 22 points to 17,162. The Kospi in Seoul lost 6 points at 1352 while the Straits Times in Singapore dropped 3 points at 2515. On contrary, the Taiex in Taiwan added 7 points at 6605.
The Chemical, Industrial & Pharmaceutical Laboratories (CIPLA) has lost by 0.3% to Rs. 254. The pharmaceutical company however, has won an approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sell two anti-AIDS drugs containing lamivudine and zidovudine. The scrip has touched a high of Rs. 256 and a low of Rs. 252 and has recorded volumes of over 38,000 shares on NSE.
In the same way, Infosys Technologies has plunged by 0.9% to Rs. 1815. The information technology (IT) company has received an order from Hrvatska Postanska, the large Croatian Bank to implement its Finacle Universal Banking Solution. The scrip has touched an intra-day high of Rs. 1835 and a low of Rs. 1809 and has recorded volumes of over 2,00,000 shares on NSE.
The largest domestic integrated zinc producer, Hindustan Zinc has fell by 1.3% to Rs. 598 after the company reduced the price of zinc by Rs. 14,400 to Rs. 179,500 a metric ton, while keeping the price of lead unchanged at Rs. 69,700. The scrip has touched a high of Rs. 604 and a low of Rs. 591 and has recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.
The market got a little boost when Canara Bank moved further. The bank has surged by 1% to Rs. 259 after the company declared their plans to sell Rs. 5bn of bonds to boost its capital. The scrip has touched a high of Rs. 261 and a low of Rs. 252 and has recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.
Indian Oil Corporation has gained by 0.9% to Rs. 545 after the company announced its Rs. 40bn investment plan for the production of Euro IV petroleum products. The scrip has touched a high of Rs. 549 and a low of Rs. 540 and has recorded volumes of over 37,000 shares on NSE.
