Mumbai: June 15, 2009 - Indian markets were in the red but damage was limited even as the index heavy weight Reliance Industries plunged after the Bombay High Court ruled against it in the gas dispute with Reliance Natural Resouces.

The loss in RIL was offset by gains in Reliance Power, Axis Bank and Reliance Infrastructure. Traders were holding on to their positions ahead of announcement of Union Budget session which is scheduled to held on July 6, said dealers.

“Market players would prefer to lighten their positions ahead of the F&O expiry when 50 stocks will go out of the F&O segment. The coming month will see smaller lot size for many scrips. The outlook for today is a bit weak to start with. Trading pattern for the rest of the day will mostly hinge on global markets and trends in liquidity flows. No major fall is expected, though some correction may not be ruled out. Budget and monsoon are the two big events that would have a bearing on sentiment,” said India Infoline report.

At 12:20 pm, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 4553.40, down 30 points or 0.65 per cent. The broader index touched an intra-day high of 4601.05 and low of 4522.95.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 15034.06, down 203.88 points or 1.34 per cent. The 30-share index hit an intra-day low of 14983.98 and high of 15261.03.

BSE Midcap Index was down 0.86 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 0.85 per cent.

“Intra-day support for Nifty exits at 4550, a trade below 4550 can bring pressure into the system. Resistance is placed at 4630 levels. Fresh buying trigger can be seen only if nifty breaks above the 4700 mark till then one should remain cautious. And a major weakness will be seen only if markets break 4370/14500 level, until then every dip should be used as a buying opportunity,” said Nirmal Nang report.

Reliance Power (6.24%), Axis Bank (4.58%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (3.31%), Unitech (3.30%) and Reliance Infrastructure (3.29%) were amongst the Nifty gainers.

Reliance Industries (-6.61%), Sterlite Industries (-6.52%), Reliance Petroleum (-6.42%), Tata Power (-5.07%) and Tata Motors (-4.25%) were amongst the Nifty losers.

Shares of Reliance Industries fell Monday after the Bombay High Court passed its judgment against the company and in favour of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resources. According to the verdict RNRL will get get assured gas supply of 28 million metric
standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd) of gas from Mukesh Ambani’s Krishna-Godavari basin for 17 years at $2.34 million metric British thermal unit (mmbtu).

The gas supply will have to increase by 11 mmscmd if RIL does not supply gas to NTPC. The court has asked RIL to arrive at an arrangement along these lines within a month. The court has also said that the Ambani brothers may consult their mother if there is any difficulty in arriving at a conclusion. Meanwhile shares of RNRL were up 20.27 per cent at Rs 105.

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1593 declines and 798 advances.