MUMBAI, March 30: The 30-share BSE Sensitive Index slipped by 10.62 points on Monday to close at 3,897.98 as speculators rushed to square up their long positions ahead of the last day of the settlement on the NSE on Tuesday. Lack of buying support from financial institutions aided the fall in share prices, brokers said.According to dealers, the Sensex fell by 80 points during intra-day trades but recovered to close at 3,897.98 points. While technical analysts described the 80-point intra-day fall in the Sensex as a much-needed correction, market participants attributed the fall in share prices to continuous selling by local punters in the absence of FII buying. Brokers said there were rumours in the market that the NSE had sent out instructions to select brokers to square off their outstanding positions ahead of the last day of the trading cycle. NSE officials denied giving any such instructions.
"Fund managers are giving signals of entry at lower levels with target index of 5,000 points by year-end.However, a correction of another 50-100 points would provide a reasonable entry level," explained the chief dealer at an FII brokerage firm. "The buying at software and select B group stocks is a visible indicator of their interest," he added. Rumours that FII buying in Satyam Computers had overshot the permissible level of 30 per cent saw hectic selling in the scrip. The stock touched the lower end of the price band at Rs 235.70 and closed at the same level with an outstanding sale order of over 22,000 shares on the BSE. It was locked at Rs 236.40 on the NSE.
Across-the-board selling saw pivotals being hammered down by over 2 per cent. ITC breached the crucial support level of Rs 700 to close at Rs 697. According to technical analysts, a correction below this level can be considered healthy before the beginning of the next bull rally. After attracting a higher backwardation of Rs 3.95 for a net outstanding position of over 1.22 lakh shares, Nestle took another beating on Monday, losing 8 per cent on thelocal bourses to close at Rs 433.30.
Similarly, other counters which faced continuous selling pressure to close near the lower-end of the price band on the NSE were Modipon (Rs 69), Panyam Cements (Rs 475) and OEN Connectors (Rs 47).
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
