Market ends flat amid volatile trade

The market staged a strong comeback in late trade after the Sensex fell below 19,000 mark in mid-afternoon trade. The market had weakened in mid-afternoon trade in what was a choppy trading session. Earlier, the market had come sharply off higher level from an initial surge. Consumer durable and metal stocks gained. Auto stocks declined. Reliance Industries declined. Reliance Energy and ONGC were major gainers from Sensex pack. European markets were trading lower. Asian indices were mixed today, 19 December 2007. US stocks rose on Tuesday, 18 December 2007.

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth can be scaled up to 10% by 2012 with the right set of policies, but the subprime crisis in the US might impact exports and capital flows, prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday, 19 December 2007, at a meeting of state chiefs and other top policymakers.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 12.32 points or 0.06% to 19,091.96. Sensex hit a low of 18,886.40 in mid-afternoon trade. At day's low, Sensex had lost 193.24 points. Sensex hit a high of 19,397.76 in early trade, a gain of 318.12 points.

The broader CNX S&P Nifty gained 8.85 points or 0.15% to 5,751.15

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 8004 crore compared to Tuesday (18 December 2007)'s Rs 8,052.65 crore.

Nifty December 2007 futures were at 5800.15, at a premium of 49 points as compared to the spot closing of 5751.15.

The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 79,137.15 crore, which was higher than Rs 74,579.26 crore on Tuesday, 18 December 2007.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.15% to 9,080.39. It underperformed Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.82% to 11,915.36. It outperformed Sensex.

BSE PSU index (up 0.15% to 9,563.01), BSE Power index (up 0.18% to 4,222.80), BSE IT index (up 0.44% to 4,181), BSE FMCG index (up 0.64% to 2224.19), BSE Metal index (up 0.69% to 18,202.10) and BSE Consumer Durables index (up 1.03% to 6,122.32) outperformed Sensex.

BSE Capital Goods index (down 0.02% to 18,898.17), BSE Oil & Gas index (down 0.23% to 12,280.80), BSE Health Care index (down 0.33% to 4,247.16), BSE Realty index (down 0.44% to 11,603.26) and BSE Auto index (down 0.7% to 5,525.64) underperformed Sensex.

The market breadth was strong. On BSE, 1,849 shares advanced as compared to 1,026 that declined. 26 shares were unchanged. 15 of the 30 Sensex stocks declined.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization & oil refiner Reliance Industries declined 0.88% to Rs 2,704.75. The stock came off session's high of Rs 2,780.

Reliance Energy (REL) rose 4.12% to Rs 1,882.60. The company is reportedly planning to foray into Africa. It is believed to be in talks with the governments of Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia for setting up generation capacities of over 1,000 megawatt (MW). The company’s African Safari will be followed by a bid for a 1,200 MW greenfield project at Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, the reports added.

Metal stocks were mixed. Tata Steel (up 0.96% to Rs 824.20), National Aluminium company (up 3.32% to Rs 428.50) edged higher. Steel Authority of India (down 0.56% to Rs 258.30) and Hindalco Industries (down 0.68% to Rs 198.35) edged lower.

Consumer Durable stocks rose. Titan Industries (up 2.56% to Rs 1,497.05), Videocon Industries (up 4.29% to Rs 646), edged higher.

Gitanjali Gems rose 3.13% to Rs 418.50. The company announced during the market hours today that Gitanjali Lifestyle (GLL), a wholly subsidiary of the company is signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mariella Burani Fashion Group (MBFG) of Italy to form a joint venture in India by way of incorporation of a new company. The objective of the proposed joint venture is to significantly drive growth of MBFG's brands in emerging markets.

Auto stocks declined. Tata motors (down 1.59% to Rs 691.10), Bajaj Auto (down 0.66% to Rs 2,776.80) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.39% to Rs 995.30) edged lower.

Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.86% to Rs 777.30), Hero Honda Motors (up 0.29% to Rs 704) edged higher.

ONGC (up 2.65% to Rs 1,180.50), ICICI Bank (up 1.79% to Rs 1,161.05) and Infosys (up 1.09% to Rs 1,638.10) edged higher.

HDFC (down 1.75% to Rs 2,763), Grasim Industries (down 1.68% to Rs 3,575.20), State Bank of India (down 1.97 % to Rs 2,258.30) and ACC (down 3.4% to 1,030.65) edged lower.

Larsen & Toubro rose 0.77% to Rs 3,998.25 after the company said it had received a contract worth Rs 287 crore to build an elevated road to Mumbai International Airport.

Ispat Industries clocked the highest volume of 3.73 crore shares on BSE. The stock rose 5.22% to Rs 85.60. IKF Technologies clocked the second highest volume of 2.86 crore shares on BSE. The stock rose 9.13% to Rs 14.22. G V Films clocked the third highest volume of 2.6 crore shares. The scrip rose 6.78% to Rs 11.49. Himachal Futuristic Communications clocked the fourth highest volume of 2.5 crore shares. The stock hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 42.75. Kashyap Technologies clocked fifth highest volume of 1.96 crore shares. The stock declined 4.46% to Rs 5.35.

Ispat Industries clocked the highest turnover of Rs 316.39 crore on BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 289.78 crore), IFCI (Rs 188.32 crore), Reliance Energy (Rs 156.73 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 146.08 crore) were other turnover toppers in that order.

European markets were trading lower today. Germany’s DAX (down 0.29% to 7,827.99) and UK’s FTSE 100 (down 0.09% to 6,273.40) edged lower.

Most of the Asian indices were mixed today, 19 December 2007, tracking overnight gain in US stocks. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong’s Heng Seng (up 1.11% to 27,029.26) and Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted (up 2.65% to 8,014.34) edged higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (down 1.17% to 15,030.51), Straits Times (down 0.36% to 3,357.34) edged lower.

US stocks rose on Tuesday, 18 December 2007, as investors bought beaten-down shares of technology heavyweights such as IBM and Microsoft Corp on hopes that the tech sector would weather the impact of the credit crisis. An upbeat profit forecast from design software maker Adobe Systems Inc lifted optimism in the tech sector, a day after the Nasdaq slid more than 2%.

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 65.27 points, or 0.50%, to 13,232.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 9.08 points, or 0.63%, to close at 1,454.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 21.57 points, or 0.84%, at 2,596.03, snapping a three-day losing streak. Wall Street gains were also helped by optimism on an easing of the subprime credit crunch after a cash injection by the European Central Bank as part of the effort by global central banks to shore up credit markets.

Volatility may remain high in the near term ahead of expiry of December 2007 derivatives contracts next Thursday, 27 December 2007. The market remains closed on Friday, 21 December 2007 on account of Bakri Id and also on Tuesday, 25 December 2007 on account of Christmas. Therefore, only four trading sessions are left for expiry of December 2007 derivatives contracts.