Market likely to consolidate
Volatile markets ended flat with benchmark Sensex closing at a new all time high. The markets were in red throughout the trading session as volatility and selling pressure in the heavy weights like Bajaj Auto, Satyam Computer and Bharti Airtel dragged the benchmark index to hit a low of 14523.16. However, the markets recovered from their lows as blue chips like Infosys and L&T witnessed fresh buying. Also, PSU stocks attracted buying interest after Government announced plan to sell 7% stake in BEML. Finally, the BSE benchmark Sensex was flat at 14652. NSE Nifty was also flat at 4223.
L&T gained by 0.9% to Rs1756 after the company announced that they have signed a MoU with Boeing Company for the joint exploration of business opportunities in India's defense sector. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1767 and a low of Rs1702 and recorded volumes of over 6,00,000 shares on NSE.
Global Broadcast News Ltd. made an impressive debut on the bourses. The stock listed at Rs425.10 as against the issue price of Rs250, and ended at Rs505 translating into a premium of 102%. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs518 and a low of Rs425 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,00,000 shares on NSE. The company entered the capital market with an Initial Public Offering ( IPO) of equity shares, totaling up to Rs1.05bn. The issue was subscribed 48.74 times.
Patni surged over 2.5% to Rs436 after the company announced its Q4 result with net group profit at Rs1.14bn (up 73%) and revenue at Rs6.841 (up 23%). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs459 and a low of Rs426 and recorded volumes of over 12,00,000 shares on NSE.
Reliance Industries also edged higher 0.4% to Rs1397 after the company won 7 Oil Exploration areas in India. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1403 and a low of Rs1381 and recorded volumes of over 10,00,000 shares on NSE.
Metal stocks were the top losers as metal prices on LME slipped. Hindalco slipped by over 3.5% to Rs175, Sterlite Industries fell 2.15 to Rs479, SAIL was down 1% to Rs115 and Tata Steel edged lower by 0.5% to Rs462.
Telecom stocks were a mixed bag today. Bharti Airtel slipped 0.9% to Rs766 and VSNL was down 0.4% to Rs500. However, Reliance Communication gained by 0.7% to Rs489 and MTNL was flat at Rs164.
Banking stocks recorded smart gains. Heavy weight ICICI Bank advanced 1.7% to Rs999, SBI was up 0.9% to Rs1205 and HDFC Bank gained 0.7% to Rs1109. Among the Mid-Cap stocks OBC, Corp Bank and Bank of India were among the major gainers.
Capital Good stocks ended with gains. ABB, Punj Lloyd and BHEL were among the major gainers.