Indiainfoline - How Market Fared

Market ends flat

The key indices ended on a flat note ahead of F&O expiry. The firm Asian Markets boosted the domestic bourses to bounce back and reverse its yesterdays losses, however after surging by almost 100 points in the opening trades the markets was unable to sustain at higher levels as profit booking was seen in scrip’s like ONGC, BHEL, Telecom major Bharti Airtel and IT front runner Infosys dragging the benchmark Sensex to hit a low of 13586.04. Finally, the BSE Benchmark Sensex added 14 points, to close at 13616. NSE Nifty was up 6 points to close at 3928.

Dr Reddy’s Lab advanced 1.6% to Rs734 after the company entered in to an agreement with Torrent Pharma for selling drug in Russia. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs750 and a low of Rs715 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,000 shares on NSE.

Opto Circuit surged 3% to Rs333 as reports stated that the company is eyeing a French acquisition the deal size of which could be in the range of Euros 30mn to 35mn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs339 and a low of Rs327 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,000 shares on NSE.

AIA Engineering gained 1.4% to Rs1196 after the company announced that they would raise Rs1.25bn from select Investors for further expansion program. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1254 and a low of Rs1185 and recorded volumes of over 98,000 shares on NSE.

Jindal Saw surged 6.7% to Rs407 as the company posted a net profit of Rs475.68mn (up 97%) for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2006 and total income (net of excise) is up 98% at Rs11.40bn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs415 and a low of Rs385 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,000 shares on NSE.

Banking stocks were trading with smart gains. The Mid-Cap stocks led from the front PNB rose 1.7% to Rs545, Bank of India gained 1.5% to Rs200 and Bank of Baroda was up 1.35 to Rs265. However index heavy weights like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank ended lower.

Metal stocks were up on back of fresh buying. Tisco edged higher 0.4% to Rs477, Jindal Steel gained 0.9% to Rs2133, Hindustan Zinc was up 0.8% to Rs934 and Sterlite Industries added 0.2% to Rs544.

Technology stocks were a mixed bag. Again, Mid-Cap stocks were in demand NIIT Ltd gained 3.5% to Rs404, Mastek is up 1.5% to Rs322 and HCL Tech added 1% to Rs626. While bluie chips like Wipro and Infosys were among the major losers.

Auto stocks were in momentum as the Government is all set to cut fuel prices at the retail level according to reports, petrol will get cheaper by Rs2 per litre while diesel prices will cut by Re1 a litre. Bajaj Auto, Maruti and Hero Honda were among the major gainers.

Tyre stocks recorded smart gains. Ceat surged 4.1% to Rs132, Apollo Tyre advanced 4.2% to Rs359, JK Industry spurred 4.9% to Rs142 and MRF gained 3.3% to Rs4608.

Gems and Jewellery stocks also shined brightly. Gitanjali Gems was frozen at 10% upper circuit to Rs238.65, Classic Diamond surged 2.1% to Rs498 and Suashish Diamond gained 1% to Rs142.