India Inc results give D-Street a jolt

Ignoring the better-than-expected economic recovery in the US,Dalal Street fell 1 per cent on Friday as investors gave a thumbs down to results from some key corporates such as Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel. The 30-share BSE Sensex,which fell 460 points from the day’s high of 16,360.88 in early trade,closed 156.44 points lower at 15,896.28. In the opening session,it was cheered by a rise in global markets as data showed the US returned to economic growth. The 50-share NSE Nifty index closed 0.8 per cent lower at 4,711.70.

“The major reason for such carnage in the market was the quarterly number of index heavyweights like Reliance,BHEL,Tata Power,SAIL and Bharti which were below market expectations. Stocks in the telecom space like Bharti and RComm fell drastically due to concerns on the existing price war,” said Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services research head Alex Mathews. The weak debut of power utility Indiabulls Power also weighed on the investor sentiment.

RIL,which reported a 6.4 per cent fall in Q2 profit,slumped 3.62 per cent to Rs 1,931.25,its lowest close in 10 weeks,after it posted its fourth straight decline in quarterly profits. Bharti Airtel,which witnessed a smaller 13 per cent rise in net profit, tumbled 6.38 per cent to Rs 292.15 as it gave a downbeat outlook due to a price war. With the market falling in all the sessions of the week,the Sensex fell 5.4 per cent,posting its highest weekly loss in more than three and a half months.