BOMBAY, 4 November — On Monday selling at higher levels toward the end of the day pushed the bourses into the red. The BSE Sensex ended the day with a loss of 12.83 points at 3,009.33.

Investors cashed in on some technology, pharma, auto, cement, FMCG and diversified stocks after the recent surge in their prices. Some amount of cautiousness was also witnessed ahead of the announcement of the remaining batch of second quarter ended September 2001 results.

Dr Reddy’s Labs was down following reports that Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and Swiss pharma giant Novartis would no longer cooperate on the commercialization of Novo Nordisk’s novel dual-acting insulin drug.

The markets went down further on Tuesday. The BSE lost 51.88 points to close at 2,957.45.

Private sector refiner Reliance Petroleum saw selling when it reported a 10.48 percent fall in Q2 net profit to Rs.4.11 billion.

After the consistent fall of two days, on Wednesday, the markets surged. The BSE was up 31.90 points to close at 2,989.35.

Reliance Industries ended higher after the company announced a 6 percent rise in Q2 net profit to Rs.7,020 million on a sharp 26 percent fall in net sales to Rs.5,6790 million. The rise in the net profit was mainly on account of a 121 percent rise in other income.

The upbeat mood continued onto Thursday too. The BSE jumped up by a smart 60.45 points at 3,049.80.

On Friday, the markets were flat. The BSE closed at 3052.60, up by a marginal gain of 2.80 points. The moods had turned positive after the market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) decided to allow futures in 31 scrips.

ITC which was riding high on Thursday was down sharply by 8.85 percent at Rs.672.45 on news that the Supreme Court had banned smoking in public places. UTI also denied rumors that it was planning to sell its stake in the tobacco major to BAT.

Meanwhile foreign institutional investors (FIIs) resumed their buying. As per SEBI’s reports they have pumped in a net Rs.968 million.

The Q2 results, especially of companies in the Old Economy, have been much better than expectations. Hence buying support is seen at lower levels in select stocks belonging to various sectors. The market may open on a cautious note on Monday. Stock-specific activity is likely to continue in the coming week.

Gold was at Rs.4,650/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.7,360/- per Kg.

US dollar vis-a-vis Indian rupee was at Rs. 47.99, pound sterling at Rs.70.19, Deutsche mark at Rs. 22.57, euro at Rs.44.17, UAE dirham at Rs.13.06, Kuwait dinar at Rs.157.14, Bahrain dinar at Rs.127.24, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.80, Qatar Riyal at Rs.13.18 and Oman riyal at Rs.124.65.