Market may turn choppy
In a lackluster trading session, the markets closed higher led by gains in Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. Also uncertainty among the investors ahead of the F&O expiry and Budget brought the key indices lower from day’s high. After a impressive recovery on Thursday last week, the markets closed on a quiet note with benchmark Sensex settling at 14402, higher by 47 points and NSE Nifty adding 18 points to close at 4164.
Among the index heavy weights Hindalco, Reliance Energy, Satyam Computer, HDFC Bank witnessed selling pressure, dragging the benchmark index to a low of 14372.07 after posting a robust opening. However, Banking stocks were the star performers of the day, adding over 1.4%. SAIL, ICICI Bank, ABB and TCS were among the notable gainers among the 50 Nifty stocks.
Aban Offshore was in the limelight adding over 8.5% to Rs1950, the company now owns about 97% equity stake in Sinvest ASA after the mandatory open offer for the Norwegian company ended on Feb 16. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1955 and a low of Rs1795 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,000 shares on NSE.
Reliance Industries gained 1% to Rs1420 following reports of gas discovery at KG basin. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1430 and a low of Rs1410 and recorded volumes of over 15,00,000 shares on NSE.
L&T edged lower by 0.2% to Rs1693. The company won order from Maersk Oil Qatar for largest export project worth a quarter of billion dollars for its Block 5 development in Qatar. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1728 and a low of Rs1662 and recorded volumes of over 5,00,000 shares on NSE.
Banking stocks surged smartly led by gains in ICICI Bank on hopes that hike in lending rates would help maintain its profit margins, the scrip surged 3.2% to Rs980 and SBI was up by 0.9% to Rs1132. Among the Mid-Cap stocks Corp Bank, OBC and Canara Bank were among the major gainers.
Capital Good stocks also recorded smart gains. ABB surged over 3% to Rs3919, Jyoti structures spurred by over 4% to Rs178 and Siemens advanced by 3.2% to Rs1198. However, BHEL slipped 0.4% to Rs2376 and BEL was down 2.4% to Rs1685.
Consumer Durable stocks were the major losers as profit booking dragged them down. Titan slipped 2.3% to Rs980, Gitanjali Gems lost 2.5% to Rs238, Videocon Industries was down by 0.5% to Rs449 and Rajesh Exports slipped 3.2% to Rs435.
Sugar stocks were a mixed bag today. Bajaj Hindusthan surged 2.3% to Rs164, Dhampur Sugar was up 0.3% to Rs77 and Sakhti Sugar edged higher 0.3% to Rs75. However, Balrampur Chini lost 3.5% to Rs61 and Renuka Sugar declined nearly by 5% to Rs305