BOMBAY, 7 October — On Monday, after three consecutive days of gains, the BSE closed at 2,795.30 and the NSE at 910.10. Selling pressure was seen in New as well as Old Economy stocks. Defensive sector stocks were mixed. BSES was the day’s biggest loser.

The Reliance group’s power generation and distribution major saw a lot of profit booking. ACC was down. Public sector undertaking (PSU) pivotals such as MTNL, HPCL and Bhel also slipped on profit booking.

State Bank of India advanced because the government may raise the FII investment ceiling in the bank’s equity. The stock was also expecting a cut in the bank rate. Pentamedia Graphics declined following BSE’s decision to suspend trading in the scrip from Oct.4, 2001 because of alleged irregularities. Kesoram Industries posted gains following the announcement of a buy-back.

On Tuesday the markets were closed.

On Wednesday the BSE closed at 2,754.95. IT stocks were the day’s biggest casualty following a profit warning from the leading telecom equipment maker, Nortel Network Corp. Infosys Technologies sank to a new 52-week low of Rs.2,156. Cement scrips bucked the weak trend and posted gains. Reliance Industries fell further on sustained profit- booking. Telco was up on expectations that the company may post better results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2001.

Bajaj Auto, India’s largest scooter maker was up after it announced that its two-wheeler sales in September 2001 were up by 8.9 percent. Hero Honda Motors was also up as its sales had jumped up by 37.2 percent. Digital GlobalSoft,a 51 percent subsidiary of Compaq in India was down after a profit warning from Compaq Computer which is expecting a loss in Q3.

In pharma stocks, Aurobindo Pharma slipped further after its Chairman Ramprasad Reddy warned that the company’s growth may slow down. Gas Authority of India, Indian Oil and ONGC were up on reports that the three might be merged together.

On Thursday, the BSE closed at 2,788.97 and the NSE at 912.05. The positive closing of the Dow Jones and the NASDAQ led to an improvement on the Indian bourses. Infosys Technologies bounced back on renewed buying at lower levels and so did Satyam Computer.

On Friday the BSE closed at 2,812.90 and the NSE at 914.60.

Apart from IT stocks, cement and automobile stocks also ruled steady on selective buying.

Gold was at Rs.4,770/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.7,730/- per Kg.

US dollar was at Rs.47.99, pound sterling at Rs. 70.86, Deutsche mark at Rs.22.55, euro at Rs.44.12, UAE dirham at Rs.13.06, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.157.68, Bahraini dinar at Rs.127.28, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.79, Qatari riyal at Rs.13.17 and Omani riyal at Rs. 124.63.