Sensex gains 52.83 points on lacklustre trade

A benchmark index for Indian markets on Friday closed lacklustre amid volatility and ended the week in the red. Realty stocks were the biggest losers amid a gloomy environment after ONGC’s auction the day before failed to evince a good response. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,661.39 points and closed at 17,636.8 points, 52.83 points or 0.3 per cent up from its previous close at 17,583.97 points. The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also closed moderately higher at 5,359.35 points, up 19.6 points or 0.37 per cent from its previous close. For the week, the Sensex shed 1.6 per cent, while the Nifty lost 1.28 per cent. ONGC’s auction for five per cent of the government’s stake in it met a muted response on Thursday and was subscribed 98 per cent only after state-run Life Insurance Corp of India intervened. Broader markets closed on a flat note with the BSE 500 index ending 0.18 per cent higher. The BSE midcap index closed 0.12 per cent down while the BSE small cap index slipped 0.09 per cent. The gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank, up 2.08 per cent at Rs.902.75. L&T, up 1.66 per cent at Rs.1,299.25; SBI, up 1.17 per cent at Rs.2,245.70 and HDFC Bank, up 0.81 per cent at Rs.518.30. Major losers included DLF, down 5.03 per cent at Rs.203.85; ONGC, down 2.22 per cent at Rs.281.45; Bajaj Auto, down 1.56 per cent at Rs.1,749.35 and Coal India, down 0.82 per cent at Rs.330.70. The market breadth was mixed, with 1,411 stocks advancing, 1,485 declining and 127 remaining unchanged. Overseas funds, the primary catalyst for the dramatic rise in Indian equities in 2012, bought stocks worth $56.14 million Friday, according to data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have put in more than $7.3 billion since the start of the year, having bought equities worth $2.03 billion in January and over $5 billion in February.