Sensex ends volatile session higher; M&M soars

Indian equities continued to gain for the fourth day on Monday. The Sensex ended the volatile session on a higher note. PSU, auto, healthcare and oil & gas stocks gained, while realty, IT, teck and capital goods edged lower. Midcap index outperformed smallcap index.

It opened on a sensitive note and traded in a narrow range amid volatility. The index advanced after government data showed robust economic performance for the Q4 and year ended March 2010 and even firm Asian shares also supported the upmove. Buying was seen in select heavyweights. Finally, it closed in the green after touching a high of 16,971.15.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex gained 81.57 points or 0.48% at 16,944.63. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty climbed by 19.75 points or 0.39% at 5,086.30.

As per government data released today, India`s economy grew at 8.6% in the March quarter driven by robust manufacturing sector on the back of government and consumer spending. The growth figure for FY`10 stood at 7.4%. Most economists expected the economy would have expanded higher than the official advance estimate of 7.2% for FY10. For the fourth quarter, economists expected the economy to have grown anywhere between 8.7 and 9.3%. The first three quarters of the past fiscal grew by 6.1%, 7.9% and 6% in that order.

On global front, Asian stocks rose, led by health-care and consumer shares, as signs of earnings growth in the region overshadowed a credit-rating downgrade on Spain and concern China will step up measures to curb property speculation. European stocks advanced as Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans indicated the region`s debt crisis will prompt the US central bank to delay raising interest rates. US futures rose.

Sensex Movers

Reliance Industries contributed rise of 25.86 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (19.99 points), Mahindra & Mahindra (15.67 points), State Bank Of India (12.8 points) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (8.5 points).

However, Infosys Technologies contributed fall of 10.85 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Sterlite Industries (India) (9.04 points), Tata Consultancy Services (5.63 points), Grasim Industries (2.95 points) and Jaiprakash Associates (2.81 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Mahindra & Mahindra (5.03%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (3.21%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (1.62%), State Bank Of India (1.48%), Hero Honda Motors (1.34%), and Maruti Suzuki India (1.13%).

On the other hand, Sterlite Industries (India) (2.79%), Reliance Communications (1.76%), Jaiprakash Associates (1.54%), DLF (1.34%), ACC (1.20%), and Tata Consultancy Services (1.00%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Mid and small caps outperformed their larger counterparts gaining 1.17% and 0.62% respectively.

The major gainers in the BSE Midcap were Allcargo Global Logistics (3.51%), Allahabad Bank (2.45%), Alfa-Laval (India) (1.78%), Amtek Auto (1.67%) and Core Projects and Technologies (0.37%).

The major gainers in the BSE Smallcap were A B G Shipyard (4.13%), Action Construction Equipment (3.3%), A B G Infralogistics (2.26%), Adhunik Metaliks (1.15%) and Aarti Industries (0.85%).

Sectors in Limelight

The Auto index was at 7,699.94, up by 141.51 points or by 1.87%. The major gainers were Bajaj Auto (1.99%), Bharat Forge (1.88%), Amtek Auto (1.67%), Exide Industries (1.49%) and Apollo Tyres (1.06%).

The HC index was at 5,490.27, up by 95.66 points or by 1.77%. The major gainers were Dr Reddy`S Laboratories (2.98%), Cadila Healthcare (1.96%), Aurobindo Pharma (1.79%), Divis Laboratories (1.49%) and Biocon (0.92%).

The Oil & Gas index was at 10,180.68, up by 166.40 points or by 1.66%. The major gainers were Cairn India (3.45%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (3.26%), Essar Oil (1.72%), G A I L (India) (1.43%) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (1.06%).

On the other hand, the Realty index was at 3,097.92, down by 25.95 points or by 0.83%. The major losers were Anant Raj Industries (5.62%), Ackruti City (1.65%), D L F (1.34%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (1.27%) and Phoenix Mills (0.93%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was positive with 1,662 advances against 1,178 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

Sesa Goa topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 2,399.47 million. It was followed by Tata Steel (Rs. 1,212.03 million), Educomp Solutions (Rs. 984.35 million) and State Bank Of India (Rs. 809.12 million).

The volume chart was led by Cals Refineries with trades of over 19.60 million shares. It was followed by Suzlon Energy (12.94 million), Sesa Goa (6.28 million) and Punj Lloyd (5.33 million).