Sensex declines again

MUMBAI, July 17: Pivotals turned subdued on the Bombay Stock Exchange on profit-taking in view of end-account consideration. Sensex crossed the 3500-mark during the earlier part of the session. Foreign funds have made moderate purchases in select counters. However, FIIs turned cautious as the Washington-based report reached the market, saying US has not yet taken any firm decision on lifting economic sanctions imposed on India for conducting nuclear tests. The volume of business remained moderate.

Sensex which crossed the 3500-mark in the opening hour further touched the inter-day high of 3525.90, fell below the 3500-mark to touch the day’s low of 3455.35 and finally ended at 3470.80, with a net loss of 17.97 points as against the previous close of 3488.77. BSE-100 lost 0.03 points to 1518.02 from the previous level of 1527.05.

Brokers said that the market sentiment turned buoyant on reports of US Congress allowing president Bill Clinton to temporarily waive aside sanctions on India and Pakistan for oneyear. The purchases from FIIs pushed Sensex to a high of 3526 points before they turned net sellers due to confusion whether the sanctions completely. The total turnover was Rs 1072.77 crore.

On the National Stock Exchange, pivotals after opening on a buoyant note, declined marginally towards close on selling pressure by bull operators. The NSE-50, declined by 3.10 points to 1000.95 from 1004.5 the previous day. The Midcap slide by 12.55 points to 1478.90 as compared to 1491.45 the previous day. The total turnover was Rs 1,713.08 crore.