The BSE Sensex dipped for the second day today,down 66 points at 18,436,as heavyweights like RIL fell sharply amid nagging concerns over possible hike in key rates by RBI next week to tame high inflation and uninspiring first quarter corporate earnings declared so far. Besides,global markets offered weak cues as investors remained worried over the euro-zone debt crisis. Most interest rate sensitive stocks - consumer durables,realty and banking bore the brunt of selling. This,despite a decline in food inflation to 7.58 per cent for the week ended July 9 from 8.31 per cent in the previous week. Overall inflation,however,had moved up to 9.44 per cent in June. RBI has raised key rates 10 times since March last year to tame price rise,spurring overall hike in cost of loans and hitting corporate margins. Analysts also said investors are not much enthused by the first quarter results posted by companies. "Indian markets were down today as investors are worried that RBI may hike interest rate in its quarterly monetary policy next week. Besides,sentiment was hurting due to poor corporate numbers," said Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Research Head Alex Mathews. Reliance Industries stock,with nearly 11 per cent weight on the Sensex,was down 1.66 per cent and contributed about 30 points to the fall. Other blue chips like HDFC Bank,SBI,TCS,L&T and ICICI Bank also suffered losses. The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index,Sensex,logged a high of 18,566.99 intra-day,but closed at 18,436.19,loss of 66.19 points or 0.36 per cent over yesterday's fall of 151.49 points or 0.81 per cent. The NSE 50-issue Nifty also fell 25.45 points or 0.46 per cent to 5,541.60. Analysts said that investors turned cautious ahead of the meeting of euro-zone leaders for a second financial rescue plan for debt-laden Greece. Other economies such as Spain and Italy are also facing debt crisis. "Dalal Street has seen a lacklustre session due to lack of participation from investors on concerns over corporate earnings and high inflation,as well as weakness in global markets," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla,Equity Head at SMC Capitals. Asian stocks ended narrowly mixed. Key benchmark indices in China,Hong Kong and South Korea ended in the red,while those from Japan,Singapore and Taiwan finished in the green. European markets were trading lower in the afternoon deals. The CAC was down by 0.96 peer cent,the DAX by 0.78 per cent and the FTSE by 0.63 per cent. Back home,FIIs sold shares worth Rs 90.44 crore yesterday as per provisional data. Over all,21 of the 30 Sensex-based counters closed with losses,while others settled with gains. RCom was the top loser with a fall of 4.24 per cent,followed by Jaipra Asso (1.39 pc),HDFC Bank (1.30 pc),NTPC (1.16 pc),Hindalco (1.14 pc),DLF (0.86 pc),TCS (0.83 pc),SBI (0.81 pc),BHEL (0.68 pc),Maruti Suzuki (0.61 pc),L&T (0.46 pc) and ICICI Bank (0.32 pc). However,the country's largest 2-wheeler maker Hero Honda was the top gainer with a rise of 1.57 per cent due to good first quarter results,followed by Tata Motors (0.71 pc) and HUL (0.60 pc). From the sectoral indices,Consumer Durables dipped 2.20 per cent,Realty by 1.43 per cent and Bankex 0.98 per cent. The total market breadth at BSE remained negative as 1.643 scrips closed in the red,while 1,187 that finished in the green. The turnover dropped to Rs 2,717.91 crore from Rs 3,165.65 crore yesterday. Company INFO More on Reliance Industries Stocks More on ICICI Bank
