Mumbai, July 29: In a choppy trade, the benchmark Sensex extended its losses for the fourth straight day and closed down by a mere 12 points at 18,197.20 on selling in realty, metal and refinery counters as also weakness in global markets.
Traders as well as investors kept themselves away from making major purchases even on the first day of August series due to postponement of a vote in the House of Representatives on a US debt plan.
Realty counters continued to suffer the most on concerns over the rising interest rates which might reduce demand for residential and commercial properties, affecting their bottomlines.
Metal stocks too were at the receiving end following fall in metal prices on the London Metal Exchange (LMEX) yesterday.
After, resuming lower, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer gyrated in a range between 18,334.27 and 18,131.86 before concluding at 18,197.20, showing a small loss of 12.32 points or 0.07 per cent.
The broader NSE 50-issue Nifty also softened by 5.75 points or 0.10 per cent to 5,482.00.
Top heavyweight and petro-chem giant, RIL dropped for the fourth straight day and ended lower by 1.15 per cent, impacting the market sentiment. ONGC, Jindal Steel, L&T and Sterlite too contributed the sensex fall.
Had there not been a smart rise in ICICI Bank, ITC, Infosys Tech and Bharti Airtel, the fall in the sensex would have been much more pronounced.
ICICI Bank was the top gainer from the sensex pack with a rise of 1.99 per cent due to excellent Q1 results announced by the bank. The bank posted a 53 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks ended lower as US stalemate kept the broad market mood in check as also weak earnings from some companies and profit outlooks in Japan.
The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan ended lower between 0.02 per cent and 1.40 per cent.
European markets too displayed a feeble trend in their their afternoon trade. The CAC was down by 0.79 per cent, the DAX by 0.77 per cent and the FTSE by 0.63 per cent. US stocks index futures indicated lower opening today.
18 out of 30 index-based scrips closed with losses while others finished with gains on the BSE. Jaipra Asso was the top loser from the sensex pack with a fall of 4.51 per cent followed by Jindal Steel (4.43 pct), ONGC (2.89 pct), Hero Honda (2.14 pct), Sterlite (1.93 pct), Wipro (1.28 pct), REL Infra (1.23 pct) and DLF (0.94 pct).
However, Maruti Suzuki rose by 1.81 pct, Bharti Airtel by 1.43 pct, Bajaj Auto by 1.27 pct, ITC by 1.09 pct and Infosys Tech 0.71 pct.
From sectoral indices, BSE-Realty dipped by 2.09 pct, BSE-Metal by 2.00 pct and BSE-Oil & Gas by 1.18 pct.
The total market breadth at BSE continued to be negative with 1,746 stocks gaining ground against 1,121 that finishing with losses. The turnover was relatively high at Rs 2,968.26 crore from Rs 2,810.40 crore yesterday.
“In continuation of our earlier orders of April 29 and May 6, we are of the view that mining operations and transportation in an area ad-measuring approximately 10,868 hectares in Bellary District be immediately suspended till further orders,” the bench, also comprising Justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar, said.
“We are satisfied that, on account of over-exploitation, considerable damage has been done to the environment. We are taking a holistic view of the matter. We have suspended these operations keeping in mind the precautionary principle which is the essence of Article 21 of the Constitution”, the bench said while ruling out suggestions that it should wait for the outcome of reports from other regions of the state.
The court said it would also pass orders relating to two other districts of Tumkur and Chitradurga, also the hot-bed of illegal mining, after getting the environment impact assessment.
“We further direct the CEC to submit a report on Environment Impact Assessment on account of mining in Tumkur and Chitradurga Districts within a period of three weeks,” the bench said.
The special forest bench, which stressed the need for working out a formula to engage only the public sector undertaking (PSU), for mining in Bellary region, asked Attorney General G E Vahanvati to come out with the suggestions in consultation with the concerned departments within a week on some pointed questions.
–Agencies