Infy, ICICI drag Sensex by seventy five points

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, closed 75 points down, with bluechip stocks such as Infosys, HDFC and ICICI Bank

acting as drag.

The Sensex, which opened at 17,603.87 points and ended at 17,540.29 points, closed 75.43 points, or 0.43% down from its previous close at 17,615.72 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,244.75 points against the previous close of 5,263.1 points, a loss of 0.35%. Broader market indices performed only a tad better, with the BSE midcap index ending flat and the BSE small-cap index ruling 0.44% higher. The market breadth was positive, with as many as 1,725 stocks advancing compared to 1,172 on the decline, while 68 remained unchanged.

Among major gainers on the Sensex were DLF, up 4.26% at Rs 390.20; Grasim, up 3.02% at Rs 2,754.50; Sunpharma, up 2.11% at Rs 1,574.55; and Jaiprakash Associates, up 1.8% at Rs 161.55.

Major losers included Infosys, down 2.41% at Rs 2,464.45; TCS, down 1.98% at Rs 700.50; HDFC, down 1.7% at Rs 2,600.35; and Reliance Communications, down 1.5% at Rs 180.70. Other Asian markets ended in the green, with a key Japanese index, the Nikkei, ending 1.09% higher at 10,798.32 points, while the Korean Kospi, was up 0.7% at 1,695.26 points.

In China, the Shanghai composite index managed to end up with slender gains, closing 0.1% higher at 3,196 points, while the Hang Seng, a benchmark index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, closed a meagre 0.12% up at 22,296.75 points.

Key European markets were trading flat, with benchmark index of the London Stock Exchange FTSE 100 index ruling 0.04% up at 5,529.13 points. Among real estate companies, India’s biggest developer DLF soared 4.1% to Rs 389.9 after Goldman Sachs raised it to “buy” from “sell”, citing a potential recovery in office real property and steady growth in key residential markets.

Developer Indiabulls Real Estate advanced 3.4% to Rs 227.4 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’. Overseas funds bought a net $184 million of domestic equities on January 6, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India website.