OT: Indian Shares Slip in Volatile Trading
Wednesday June 14, 7:24 am ET
Indian Shares Slip in Volatile Trading, Reversing Early Gains
BOMBAY, India (AP) -- Indian shares slipped in volatile trading Wednesday and the benchmark index fell to a six-month low, reversing early gains.
The 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange ended 133 points, or 1.5 percent, lower at 8,929 points, after a roller coaster day that saw the benchmark index swing nearly 600 points. The index had tumbled 4.4 percent a day before.
The Sensex rose as much as 3.6 percent to 9,387 points in early trading, but later slipped 588 points to an intraday low of 8,799 points.
On the rival National Stock Exchange, the 50-company S&P Nifty index jumped 85 points, or 3.2 percent, in the first 10 minutes of trading before tumbling to an intraday low of 2,596 points. At closing, the Nifty index was down 30 points, or 1.2 percent, at 2,633.
It wasn't immediately clear what triggered the fall in late trading, as dealers had earlier said the market opened stronger because some foreign funds have resumed buying stocks that they believe have fallen to attractive levels.
Foreign institutional investors, who pulled out US$2.73 billion (euro2.13 billion) between May 13 and June 2 from the Indian stock market, have been net buyers over the past week, according to latest data from the Securities Exchange Board of India.
On Tuesday, these funds bought US$21 million in Indian stocks, even as the market fell sharply with the Sensex tumbling 4.4 percent, data from the market regulator showed.
The Indian stock market has been among the hardest hit over the last month amid concerns about higher interest rates in the U.S. and elsewhere, which could slow global growth. The Sensex has fallen more than 25 percent after hitting an all-time high of 12,612 points on May 10.
Some analysts believe investors will come back to the market given the earning potential of Indian companies and the prospects of the broader economy, which is growing 8 percent annually.
"They are all waiting for some momentum and stability in the market," said Deven Choksey at Bombay-based brokerage K.R. Choksey Securities.
Most bluechip stocks fell Wednesday. Technology companies led the losses with Infosys Technologies Ltd. dropping 6 percent to 2,484 rupees and TCS Ltd. slipping 5.3 percent to 1,488 rupees.
