Sensex ends up 69.63 pts; Sun Pharma, Sterlite gain

Indian markets continued to rise for the second day on Thursday. The Sensex ended in the positive terrain led by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Sterlite Industries and Bharti Airtel. IT, teck, banking and consumer durable stocks marginally gained, while auto, FMCG, PSU and metal declined. It traded in a lacluster manner as the market was directionless. It opened flat with negative bias and continued to trade flat amid volatility. In the second half, the index extended gains on the back of buying interest seen in frontliners to finally close in green after touching a high of 17,215.07 and low of 17,054.28. On the other hand Nifty sutained the 5,100 mark. Both Sensex and Nifty traded above 1-month high.

Meanwhile, food inflation dropped to 17.81% towards the end of February, but fuel inflation shot up due to a hike in excise and customs duty in the Budget. Food inflation declined by 0.06% points during the week ended February 27 from 17.87% in the previous week.

On global front, European stocks were trading flat on Thursday. UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 decreased 5.49 points, or 0.10%, to trade at 5,635.08. Whereas, Asian stocks rose, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific Index toward a seven-week high, as speculation Japan`s economy is recovering outweighed concern China will pare back measures that spurred growth.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex gained 69.63 or 0.41% at 17,167.96 with 15 components registering rise. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty went up by 17.15 or 0.34% at 5,133.40 with 23 components posting rise.

Sensex Movers

ICICI Bank contributed rise of 20.17 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Reliance Industries (18.36 points), Infosys Technologies (15.81 points), Bharti Airtel (10.19 points) and Sterlite Industries (India) (8.61 points).

However, Hindustan Unilever contributed fall of 14.52 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Hindalco Industries (5.08 points), Tata Motors (2.95 points), Tata Power Company (2.93 points) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (2.92 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (2.97%), Sterlite Industries (India) (2.12%), Bharti Airtel (1.98%), Wipro (1.73%), ICICI Bank (1.48%), and Tata Consultancy Services (1.31%).

On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever (4.21%), Hindalco Industries (1.72%), Reliance Communications (1.17%), ACC (1.08%), Tata Power Company (0.99%), and Hero Honda Motors (0.98%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Midcap index was at 6716.1 down by 9.83 points or by 0.15%. The major losers were Aban Offshore (2.49%), Amtek Auto (2.17%), Allcargo Global Logistics (2.14%), Alfa-Laval (India) (0.77%) and Reliance MediaWorks (0.38%).

The BSE Smallcap index was at 8470.34 down by 42.23 points or by 0.5%.
The major losers were Abhishek Industries (2.77%), Provogue (India) (1.63%), Advanta India (1.35%), Ador Welding (1.23%) and Action Construction Equipment (1.11%).

Sectors in Limelight

The IT index was at 5,343.52, up by 52.81 points or by 1.00%. The major gainers were Patni Computer Systems (1.96%), Infosys Technologies (0.92%), Oracle Financial Services Software (0.87%), H C L Technologies (0.6%) and Tech Mahindra (0.32%).

The TECk index was at 3,294.60, up by 30.49 points or by 0.93%. The major gainers were Bharti Airtel (1.98%), Deccan Chronicle Holdings (0.92%), Oracle Financial Services Software (0.87%), H C L Technologies (0.6%) and G T L (0.07%).

The Bankex index was at 10,348.67, up by 71.28 points or by 0.69%. The major gainers were Bank Of Baroda(2.15%), I C I C I Bank (1.48%), Allahabad Bank (0.99%), H D F C Bank (0.72%) and Bank Of India (0.31%).

On the other hand, the Auto index was at 7,571.07, down by 72.97 points or by 0.95%. The major losers were Amtek Auto (2.17%), Escorts (1.91%), Bharat Forge (1.74%), Ashok Leyland (1.52%) and Bajaj Auto (1.14%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was negative with 1,070 advances against 1,799 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

Man Infraconstruction topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 5,749.12 million. It was followed by Texmo Pipes and Products (Rs. 2,995.37 million), ICICI Bank (Rs. 643.29 million) and State Bank Of India (Rs. 636.20 million).

The volume chart was led by Cals Refineries with trades of over 23.99 million shares. It was followed by Texmo Pipes and Products (20.38 million), Man Infraconstruction (16.51 million) and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision (6.17 million).