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Sensex Turns Choppy; Jindal Steel Slumps

Sensex Turns Choppy; Jindal Steel Slumps

The BSE Sensex turned flat after gaining over 120 points in the opening deals. The 50-share Nifty also turned choppy after edging past 8,600 on firm Asian cues, but Jindal Steel slumped after the government rejected its bids for three coal mines.

The coal ministry on Saturday rejected four of 33 bids for coal mines after saying it would examine nine blocks whose low bids had made them "outliers" according to the government.

Caution also prevailed ahead of the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts on Thursday.

"There are no immediate trigger points. March-quarter earnings are still sometime away. I think people will wait for the derivatives expiry and year-ending to initiate any fresh positions," said Daljeet S Kohli, head of research at IndiaNivesh.

As of 1.45 p.m. the Sensex was down 41 points at 28,220, after earlier gaining as much as 0.44 per cent.

The Nifty edged down 0.16 per cent to 8,557 after advancing as much as 0.4 per cent.

Heavyweights, which had underperformed recently, gained. Oil and Natural Gas Corp, which had lost 2.9 per cent so far this month through Friday, rose 1.2 per cent.

Hindalco Industries advanced 3.1 per cent, while Usha Martin Ltd surged 13.7 per cent after the government approved bidding of the coal mines by these firms, analysts said.

Among decliners, Jindal Steel and Power fell as much as 14.9 per cent. A spokesman said the company was "puzzled" with the government's decisions and said it would engage in a dialogue with the coal ministry and the government.

Shares in GMR Infrastructure advanced 4 per cent as traders accumulated long positions in April derivative series a day ahead of opening of rights issue.

Coal India Ltd also fell 0.7 per cent after HSBC downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight," citing lower offtake and realisation.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals fell 2.3 per cent after the division bench of Delhi High Court restricted the company from manufacturing Zita and Zita-Met.

(With inputs from Reuters)