Sensex at 15,400, Bajaj Auto, DLF slip
Shares of Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto fell sharply on the back of weaker-than-expected December sales data. Bajaj Auto was down 5 per cent, while Hero Motocorp dipped 4.26 per cent. M&M too declined 1.18 per cent. However, shares of Tata Motors advanced
India’s benchmark indices witnessed a choppy session as trading volume was low on the first day of trade in 2012.
At 13:00 PM, the BSE Sensex index was trading at 15,400 levels, down 54 points. The NSE Nifty shed 22 points and was trading around 4602 levels. Major markets across Asia are closed for the New Year which resulted in less foreign institutional participation.
Index heavyweights Reliance (0.45 per cent), L&T (0.69 per cent), Infosys (0.49 per cent) and Bharti Airtel (0.71 per cent) were trading flat.
Shares of Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto fell sharply on the back of weaker-than-expected December sales data. Bajaj Auto was down 5 per cent, while Hero Motocorp dipped 4.26 per cent. M&M too declined 1.18 per cent. However, shares of Tata Motors advanced on stronger sales, up 1.82 per cent.
Coal India was among the top gainers and rose 3.40 per cent on reports of eyeing overseas coal assets.
Realty major DLF has continued to slip since the rating agency CRISIL downgraded its debt rating. Its share prices fell 2.76 per cent.
The rupee continued to trend below 53 per dollar. Concerns about the government's worsening fiscal deficit is weighing down on the market and could trigger foreign fund outflows. Traders forecast the rupee to trade within a narrow range of 53.20-53.25.
The RBI is expected to step in and suppor the rupee. The central bank is said to have intervened last week by selling dollars around 53.30-53.50.
Most Asian currencies are trending lower as well, in thin volumes.
The euro shed 3.1 per cent against the dollar in 2011, and traders expect the weakening trend to continue in 2012.
