Sensex at 52-week low

MUMBAI, January 27: Bears seemed to have staged a comeback on the stock markets with the Sensex nearing the 52-week low level. Massive bull ...

MUMBAI, January 27: Bears seemed to have staged a comeback on the stock markets with the Sensex nearing the 52-week low level. Massive bull liquidation on Tuesday dragged the 30-share Sensex down to a new 52-week low of 3,276.21 points — closing level — losing 75 points over its previous close.

If the selling pressure continues, Sensex is likely to dip below the intra-day 52-week low level of 3247.63 (recorded on December 11) shortly. "The high carryforward positions of over Rs 370 crore signified huge bull positions at certain counters, a part of which was offloaded today," commented a BSE broker. “Since the

index has breached the crucial mark of 3,300, it should continue to head downwards as the institutional players are virtually absent,” he said, adding that turnover has also dropped.

On the NSE, the Nifty index fell by 23.50 points to close at 963.30 points, with 69 stocks hitting their price bands at the lower end. The turnover at NSE was Rs 954 crore.

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“The FII selling has been concentratedat auto stock counters, especially those involved in truck financing, where the rise in interest rates is likely to hamper the profits of these companies which are already under pressure,” commented a market analyst at an FII brokerage firm. According to market sources, scattered buying by local institutions like UTI, LIC and SBI Mutual Fund failed to help the market. The absence of fresh buying interest has also been attributed to the two public holidays during the week which has slashed the trading cycle to 3 days on the BSE. Among the MNC stocks, Pfizer took a severe beating to close at Rs 390, registering a net loss of Rs 16.25. Hoechst Marrion also closed lower by Rs 14.50 at Rs 305.50 with a meagre volume of 250 shares.

However, news that Compaq International would acquire Digital worldwide, saw Digital Equipment’s shares buck the trend. The stock attracted a price band on the buy side at Rs 153.05 on the NSE and Rs 150.75 on the BSE.

“Given the fact that various political and economic factorshave acted on sentiments which have seen the index breach the crucial barrier, the market is headed for another fall of over 150-200 points before the elections,” commented a technical analyst.