The Hindu : Business : Cement, bank shares take a hit on bourses

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Thursday, Mar 08, 2007
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Business

Cement, bank shares take a hit on bourses

MUMBAI: The stock markets ended 117 points lower in a roller-coaster ride that saw the benchmark index swing by 512 points on reports that the government was determined to control cement prices.

Reports that government would consider banning exports to bring down prices had an adverse impact on the market sentiment pulling down the benchmark Sensex to 12390.46. Brokers said the market reacted negatively to the reports, coming on the heels of the ongoing dispute between cement manufacturers and government over recent hike in excise duty in the budget and the subsequent price increase.

Initially, the Sensex had risen by 206 points to the intra-day high of 12902.18, continuing its overnight rally.

The BSE barometer bounced back after touching the lows, following a sharp pull back rally and ended the day at 12579.75, a net fall of 117.34 points or 0.92 per cent from Tuesday's close of 12697.09. The S&P CNX Nifty also fell by 28.80 points or 0.79 per cent to close at 3626.85 from 3,655.65.

Attributing the surge in the last one hour to hectic short covering and institutional purchases, brokers said investors were not willing to continue with short positions

Bank and cement shares were hit hard and registered sharp losses due to frantic sell-off. — PTI

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