After hitting the 5,000 mark earlier this week, stock markets are now in a correction mode. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped below the 5000-mark as selling gained momentum in frontline stocks. Up 45 points at one point, the Sensex eventually ended with a loss of 75.97 points, or 1.51%, at 4,971.57.Sensex touched a high of 5,092.70 and a low of 4,965.50 during intra-day trades. With Friday’s fall, Sensex has lost 126.27 points. However, it gained 64.70 points for the week. The NSE’s S&P CNX Nifty Index also shed 20.15 points to end at 1,592.05. Sensex would be revamped with effect from Monday. ONGC, Wipro, Tata Power, Bharti Tele-Ventures and HDFC Bank would replace Castrol India, HCL Tech, GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Colgate Palmolive and Nestle India.The market displayed huge volatility with the Sensex moving in an intra-day range of 127 points. Profit booking continued in frontline old as well as new economy blue-chips. Heavyweights like ITC, Reliance Industries and HLL contributed significantly to the weakness of the Sensex. However, counters like ICICI Bank and HPCL managed to end with modest gains. As frontline stocks showed signs of weakness, action continued in second-line stocks as operators and institutional investors turned to mid-cap stocks. The breadth of the market remained positive.Strong performance by the India Inc for the quarter ended September 2003 aided the sentiment for second-line stocks. Sustained buying by foreign funds also added to the market’s bullishness. FIIs pumped in a net Rs 134.20 crore on Thursday.
