Market settles at all time high

It was a historical week for the markets, with the barometer index BSE Sensex hitting the 15,000 level and the S&P CNX Nifty also crossing the 4,400 mark. They also managed to settle at all time high levels. Fall in inflation, easing fears of interest rate hike, steady progress of monsoon, fresh build-up of positions in derivatives markets were the factors that triggered rally on the bourses. The market settled with gains in 4 out of 5 sessions in the week

The BSE Sensex gained 313 points to 14,964.12 in the week ended 6 July 2007 while the S&P CNX Nifty rose 67 points to 4,384.85

The week started on upbeat note with the BSE 30-share Sensex gaining 13.75 points to 14,664.25, on Monday, 2 July 2007. Auto, capital goods, and healthcare shares were in demand, while cement and IT shares witnessed selling.

Sensex jumped 142.25 points to 14,806.51, on Tuesday, 3 July 2007, with banking, telecom, FMCG, and construction stocks leading the rally.

The rally continued for the fifth straight trading with the BSE Sensex advancing 73.73 points at 14,880.24 on Wednesday, 4 July 2007. Shares from the metal, cement and sugar sectors saw buying, while IT pivotals were offloaded.

The five-day rally fizzled on Thursday, 5 July 2007, with the Sensex declining by 18.35 points to 14,861.89, in highly volatile trade. Auto and capital goods shares were in demand, while IT pivotals were offloaded. Realty major DLF debuted on the bourses on that day.

The benchmark 30-shares BSE Sensex galloped 102.23 points at 14,964.12, an all time closing high on Friday, 6 July 2007. It also struck a record high of 15,007.22 on on that day.

Auto stocks were in demand. Maruti Udyog rose after it sold 59,917 vehicles in June 2007, up 24% from 48,425 vehicles sold in June 2006. Maruti Udyog sold 56,000 units in the domestic market, up 25.5% from 44,626 units in June 2006.

Tata Motors, M&M and Hero Honda Motors, also edged higher

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest commercial bank, rose on reports that it would soon enter new business streams including pension funds to tap emerging opportunities.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) settled with marginal gains. The Committee of Secretaries (CoS), which met on Monday 2 July 2007 to decide on the issue of gas pricing from RIL’s D6 fields in the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin, has asked the power and fertiliser ministries to present their views before the committee on 5 July 2007.

Engineering & construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) struck a lifetime high on reports it had formed separate companies for power projects and shipbuilding businesses. The company may also unlock value in power and shipbuilding businesses after five years. Meanwhile, L&T expects Rs 1,000-crore revenue per annum from railway modernisation in three years.

State run oil exploration major ONGC slipped as it sharply cut gas reserve estimates at one of its blocks in the Krishna Godavari Basin. The block is estimated to have 2.38 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of in-place gas reserves, much lower than its earlier estimate of 21 TCF.

Cement stocks surged following reports that cement firms have hiked prices by Rs 3-Rs 5 per 50-kilogram bag across India. ACC, Ambuja Cements, Grasim, UltraTech Cement Company, India Cements, all logged smart gains.

Vishal Retail settled at Rs 752.20, a huge premium of 178.51% over the IPO price of Rs 270, on Wednesday 4 July 2007. The scrip touched a high of Rs 809 and low of Rs 423.25. It debuted at Rs 472.50. On BSE, 1.14 crore shares were traded in the counter on that day.

Real-estate major DLF settled at Rs 570.05, a premium of 8.57% over the IPO price of Rs 525 per share, on Thursday, 5 July 2007. The scrip debuted at Rs 582, and touched a high of Rs 714.25 and a low of Rs 505.60 during the day on BSE. The counter saw high volumes of 3.42 crore shares on BSE, on that day.

India's wholesale price index rose 4.13% in the 12 months to 23 June 2007, higher than the previous week's increase of 4.03% due to a rise in some food and mineral prices, government data released noon on Friday, 6 July 2007, showed.