Hindalco drops over 4 pc; HDFC surges 3 pc on BSE

MUMBAI Shares of Aditya Birla Group firm Hindalco declined over four per cent, while mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation gained over three per cent, amid the benchmark index Sensex losing 78.52 points to close at 14,645.66 points.

Hindalco, the biggest loser among the 30 blue chips, plunged 4.53 per cent to close at Rs 129.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after touching an intra-day low of Rs 128.70.

Another Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries ended the day at Rs 1,963.50, down 4.52 per cent, while more than 16,000 shares of the company changed hands today.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communication slipped 2.71 per cent to close at Rs 412.40, whereas corporate giant Reliance Industries lost 2.21 per cent to close at Rs 2,224.95.

Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra lost 2.56 per cent to close at Rs 568.10, despite the company announcing a joint venture with a Chinese tractor firm.

Among the sectoral indices, Oil&Gas, Metal, Power, Auto, Consumer Durables all closed in the negative territory following the trend of the benchmark index Sensex.

Meanwhile, Housing Development Finance Corporation jumped 3.12 per cent to close at Rs 2,359.75 and more than one lakh shares changed hands on the bourse.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank ended the day at Rs 1,200.40, up 2.14 per cent. It had touched an intra-day high of Rs 1,222 on day's trade.

Other gainers include software major Satyam Computers, engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro, software exporter Tata Consultancy Services and FMCG firm Hindustan Unilever soared over one per cent on the exchange.

The IT index was the only gainer in the day's trade on the BSE and settled with a gain of 0.75 per cent at 3,926.38 points.