Indian stock market closed lower today july 5 2011

Indian stock market closed lower today july 5 2011 : Indian shares closed lower after trading in a narrow band Tuesday, weighed down by declines in heavyweight Reliance Industries following a news report that the federal corporate affairs minister, who was the previous oil minister, had resigned from federal cabinet.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index fell 69.92 points, or 0.4%, to close at 18,744.56 after moving between 18,694.05 and 18,837.68 during the day.

On the National Stock Exchange, the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty dipped 18.40 points, or 0.3%, to end at 5,632.10.

Trading volume on the BSE fell to INR28.32 billion from Monday's INR29.91 billion. Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,497 to 1,317, while 145 stocks were unchanged.

"Reliance and Bharat Heavy Electricals were the laggards today and we also saw profit-booking in some large-caps following the recent rally," said Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

The Sensex had gained 7.2% over the previous eight sessions. Mathews tips the benchmark to trade in an 18,500-19,150 range for the rest of the week.

Of the 30 Sensex constituents, 18 ended lower Tuesday.

Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market capitalization, fell 2.5% to INR846.15 after the Indian Express newspaper reported that Corporate Affairs Minister Murli Deora, who was the oil minister from January 2006 to January 2011, had resigned from federal cabinet, dealers said.

According to local media reports, India's federal auditor has found in its draft report that the oil ministry bent rules between 2006 and 2008 to let some private oil and gas explorers boost profits, leading to the loss of millions of dollars to the government. Deora declined to comment when contacted by the newspaper.

Bharat Heavy Electricals fell 4.5% to INR1,953.80 on expectations that the government will soon sell a 5% stake to the public.

ITC dipped 1.6% to INR195.85, extending Monday's 1.3% fall, as investors continued to take profit from the stock's recent outperformance.

In gainers, auto shares rose as investors betted that sales will pick up in the second half of the year.

Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2.2% to INR717.05 and Tata Motors added 0.5% to end at INR1,016.95.

Among other gainers, State Bank of India, the country's largest lender by assets, gained 1.6% to INR2,471.70. For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

Related Post: