Spate of developments hit market sentiment

MUMBAI, APRIL 6. Stung in the tail by late reports of a downgrade of Infosys Technologies and rumours of a stock broker's arrest, equities made a hasty retreat from the day's high levels, pushing the Sensex to close with small rise on the Bombay Stock Exchange today.

The BSE sensitive index opened with a wide upward gap at 3663.74 and rose further to a high of 3676.82 following a strong rally on Wall Street yesterday as Dell Computer and Alcoa gave its first really good earnings news in months.

The Dow Jones industrial average soared by over 402 points and the Nasdaq composite index jumped by about 146 points yesterday prompting global markets to start on a strong footing.

The BSE barometer, however, failed to maintain its gains as domestic operators and public investors rushed to wind up whatever commitments they had after reports that a leading foreign fund Jardine Flemming has downgraded bellwether Infosys Technologies from `buy' recommendations to the market performer were flashed by a TV channel.

Reflecting late sell-off, the Sensex that had risen by about 111 points over Wednesday's close of 3565.65, later fell back to close at 3576, a modest gain of 10.76 points.

Speculation that a stock broker, Nirmal Bung, was arrested in connection with the recent pay order scam also had sentimental impact on the market.

Meanwhile, foreign funds reportedly made fresh purchases in cement sector on hopes of excellent prospects in the light of the government's focus on infrastructure sector.

- PTI

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Section  : Business
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