Sensex trim losses, market still jittery

Sensex BSE sensitive index started lower at 4616.36 and moved widely between 4852.45 and 4601.58 before closing at 4757.06 with a net gain of 65.60 points or 1.40 per cent. The BSE-100 index, however, remained steady at 2638.07 compared to last closing of 2637.40. The National Stock Exchange NSE 50-share index closed 0.37 per cent or 6.55 points higher at 1,434.65.

8220;Some frontline infotech stocks showed signs of recovery, but the rest of the sector was battered down,8221; said a broker. Satyam, NIIT, Silverline, Rolta, Global Telesystems and HFCL fell by another 8 per cent and hit the lower circuit circuit. However, Infosys gained 3.6 per cent to Rs 7,812, Wipro by 1.5 per cent to Rs 616 and Digital Equipment by 2.2 per cent.

Cyclicals, especially cement stocks, were strong on hopes of good fourth quarter sales performance. Hindustan Lever rose 3.94 per cent to 2,519.95 and auto firm Mahindra amp; Mahindra gained 7.05 per cent at Rs 319. Investors, who burnt their fingers in the last four sessions, were extremely cautious and were seen only making selective purchases to square up their positions ahead of the news of quarterly working results begin pouring in.

Reliance Industries traded over 17 million shares but ended the day virtually flat at Rs 301, up 70 paise and announced after market hours that its board would meet on April 12 consider a share buy-back. The share swung between Rs 279.10 to Rs 312.70 during the session.

The index is still around 23 per cent below its mid-February all-time high level of 6,150. 8220;The market faces resistance at 4,900 and one can expect selling whenever the index reaches this point. It should be range-bound now between 4,600-4,900 with funds stepping in to pick bargains at 4,600,quot; said a dealer.

The Finance Ministry had on Tuesday evening removed one worry by suspending action by its tax authorities against a handful of the 150 foreign investors operating via Mauritius. The tax moves had sent a chill through foreign investors, many of whom use Mauritius as a gateway to India to obtain benefits afforded by an Indo-Mauritius taxation accord. 8220;The market failed to capitalise on this clarification. There is still panic in the market. Otherwise, Sensex would have recovered by 200 points today,8221; said stock dealer Bharatbhai Shah.

But the real worry for investors in India was where the Nasdaq will go next, especially as many firms here plan US listings in the coming months. While Nasdaq finished down 1.77 per cent on Tuesday, it had recovered from being 13 per cent down, raising hopes here the worst may be over.

NSE sees no payment blips
MUMBAI: The National Stock Exchange NSE said on Wednesday it did not forsee any problem in the settlement of trades on the exchange for the account ended on Tuesday, although the market index dropped seven per cent and many stocks were frozen at limit down preventing some brokers from squaring their positions.

Several stocks hit the lower end of the eight per cent circuit limit very early in the session, and the market8217;s crash on settlement day had fuelled speculation that some brokers would face problems. quot;In the interest of the investors and the market, it is clarified that taking into account outstanding positions and margin/deposits available, as per our current assesment we do not envisage any settlement problems for individual trading members,quot; the exchange said in a statement.