Banking, CG stocks propel Sensex to new high

Fresh optimism in heavyweight, banking, capital goods and oil & gas stocks triggered a major rally in the afternoon that lifted the Sensex to a new intra-day high of 13304.
The Sensex began the trading session with a positive gap of 50 points at 13188, but declined on selling pressure to touch an intra-day low of 13105. However the market
gained momentum in the afternoon and bounced from lower levels as the sentiment turned extremely bullish on healthy buying in heavyweight, banking, capital goods and oil & gas stocks that lifted the index to a new intra-day high of 13304. The Sensex ended the session with gains of 145 points at 13283, while the Nifty added 38 points to close at 3835.

The breadth of the market was positive. Of the 2,583 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,261 stocks advanced, 1,227 stocks declined and 95 stocks ended unchanged. On the sectoral front, the BSE Bankex surged 2.43% at 6737 followed by the BSE CG index (up 1.53% at 8831), the BSE Oil & Gas index (up 1.25% at 6264) and the BSE CD index (up 1% at 3264).

Among the major gainers ICICI Bank soared 4.08% at Rs832, BHEL surged 3.03% at Rs2,456, HDFC Bank jumped 2.65% at Rs1,044, Gujarat Ambuja Cements advanced 2.63% at Rs135, L&T rose 2.02% at Rs1,337 and Dr Reddy's was up 2.02% at Rs789. Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, ACC, Hero Honda and REL gained 1.5-2% each. However, Cipla shed 1.22% at Rs268. Satyam was down 0.89% at Rs424, ITC slipped 0.56% at Rs186 and HDFC closed weaker by 0.54% at Rs1,495. Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Ranbaxy closed with marginal losses.

Over 2.13 crore Silverline Technologies shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Pentamedia Graphics (1.18 crore shares), Vishal Exports (79.10 lakh shares), Development Credit Bank (49.82 lakh shares) and GTL Infrastructure (47.99 lakh shares).

Value-wise Reliance Industries registered a turnover of Rs338.59 crore on the BSE followed by Indiabulls (Rs166.02 crore), Tech Mahindra (Rs106.92 crore), HDFC (Rs78.57 crore) and Hindustan Zinc (Rs67.09 crore).

BSE, NSE settle at lifetime high

The market witnessed across the board buying and the Sensex kept on advancing as trading progressed. India’s premier index, the BSE Sensex, struck an all-time high of 13,303.85 while the S&P CNX Nifty touched a high of 3,842.40, during the late-afternoon session of trade. The Sensex’s previous all-time high was at 13,000.69, on 7 November 2006. The market was banking on a strong set of industrial production figures, and a dip in inflation.

The BSE Sensex surged 145.42 points (1.11%), to end at 13,295.36. This is also its all-time closing high, the low for the day being 13,104.98.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 45.25 (1.19%), to settle at 3,841.65.

The market-breadth, which was strong in opening trade, kept on easing, but ended marginally positive. On BSE, 1,274 shares advanced, compared to 1,255 that declined. As many as 88 scrips remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4,541 crore, higher than Thursday’s Rs 4,263 crore.

Among the 30-Sensex pack, 23 advanced while the rest declined.

Banking stocks were in flavour on renewed buying. The BSE Bankex surged 159.70 points (2.43%), to 6,736.57. Private sector ICICI Bank was the top gainer, up 4.35% to Rs 834, on a volume of 5.82 lakh shares, after its ADR rose more than 3% on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday. It had struck an all-time high of Rs 838, while its low was Rs 795. Centurion Bank of Punjab (up 7.33% to Rs 28.55), HDFC Bank (up 2.54% to Rs 1,043), SBI (up 0.24% to Rs 1,133.20), UTI Bank (up 1.67% to Rs 445), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.68% to Rs 361.15), Union Bank of India (up 1.63% to Rs 130.65) and Union Bank of India (up 1.59% to Rs 130.60) also advanced.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) surged 2.13%, to Rs 1,288.25, on a volume of 26.62 lakh shares. Reliance Industries (RIL) said on Thursday, its board had approved raising up to $2 billion through loans and bond issues, or a combination of fund-raising instruments.

Software major Infosys rose 0.51%, to Rs 2,148.90. The stock rose for the fourth day in a row today, after shareholders on Tuesday approved a sponsored ADR issue.

Aluminium maker Hindalco Industries was up 0.25% at Rs 183.20, and its state-run counterpart Nalco gained 0.62%, to Rs 200 after three-month aluminium futures rose 4% on the the London Metal Exchange, on Thursday.

Cipla was the top loser, down 1.29% to Rs 267.75, on a volume of 2.28 lakh shares.

Bajaj Auto slipped 0.37% to Rs 2,595. It has ventured into the $ 6 billion Indonesian bike market with its flagship model, the 180 cc Bajaj Pulsar. The company also plans to set up a regional production base in Indonesia by investing $50 million over the next three years in a production base and distribution network.

Reliance Industries (RIL) was the top-traded counter on BSE with a total turnover of Rs 338.09 crore.

Indiabulls Financial Services followed with a turnover of Rs 164.48 crore. It surged 6.81% to Rs 509 on a high volume of 32.02 lakh shares. It spurted to a lifetime high of Rs 527.40, in opening trade.

Oil refining and marketing companies declined after US crude oil futures in Asian trade touched $ 61 a barrel. HPCL (down 2.07% to Rs 299.65), BPCL (down 2.10% to Rs 364) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 0.76% to Rs 485) declined.

Punj Lloyd (PLL) jumped 6.43% to Rs 932, after it bagged an EPC order worth Rs 803.70 crore for the Doha Urban Pipeline Relocations Project (DUPRP) from Qatar Petroleum. With this, the order backlog for PLL group is Rs 13,394 crore. This is the total value of unexecuted orders as of 30 September 2006, and new orders received till date.

Simplex Infrastructures jumped 7.95% to Rs 387, on bagging a Rs 212 crore contract from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Indian Hotels rose 1.48% to Rs 150.80, after it acquired a luxury hotel in the US. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, a unit of Indian Hotels Company, said on Thursday it had agreed to buy The Ritz-Carlton Boston hotel, the longest continuously operated Ritz-Carlton hotel in the United States, for $170 million. The 273-room luxury hotel will be renamed Taj Boston.

Bulk drug maker Granules India gained 2.50% to Rs 91.30. Its board approved raising up to $20 million through convertible securities, or through overseas issues.

Hindustan Zinc rose 1.21% to Rs 964.45, as three-month zinc futures touched a record high of $ 4,545 a tonne on the LME, on Thursday.

India's wholesale price index rose 5.09%, in the 12-months to 28 October, lower than the previous week's 5.41% due to a fall in the prices of manufactured products, data showed on Friday.

India's industrial production rose 11.4% in September from a year earlier due to robust manufacturing and electricity output, government data showed on Friday. Output had grown at 9.9% in August. Manufacturing production rose 12% in September from a year earlier, compared with 11.1% in August.

The Nikkei booked its lowest close in more than a month on Friday, slipping 0.53% after Japanese machinery orders data came in weaker than expected and heightened concern about the outlook for the world's second-largest economy. Investors punished machinery companies such as Kubota. The Nikkei finished down 86.14 points, at 16,112.43, its lowest close since 4 October 2006.

The Hang Seng index lost 61.72 points (0.33%), to 18,891.14.

FIIs were net equity sellers to the tune of $ 1.40 million on 8 November, while mutual funds were net sellers of Rs 275 crore in equities for the same day.

US stocks fell for the first time in three days on Thursday, led by a drop in the shares of big drug makers and health-care companies as investors worried that a Democrat-controlled Congress may curb prices. A jump of more than 2% in crude price and a weaker-than-expected reading in a gauge of consumer sentiment, added to the weaker tone. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 73.24 points, or 0.60%, to close at 12,103.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 8.93 points, or 0.37%, to end at 2,376.01.

Oil was steady above $61 a barrel after surging more than 2% on Thursday. OPEC is lowering output and members have said it may cut supply further in December -- as demand is nearing its seasonal peak due to the Northern winter.

Market wins

High volatility characterized today’s recovery on the bourses after a correction, which had shaved 114 points off the BSE Sensex, in the past two days. A newspaper report about billionaire investor George Soros visiting India for the first time on 15 December 2006, boosted market sentiment. Soros is to announce investments that will signal his long-term bet on a few sectors, the report suggests.

The market also shrugged off concerns over the fate of Indo-US relations after Democrats got control of the House of Representatives from President George W Bush's Republican Party in the Congressional elections. Reports suggest that despite the Democrats’ victory, the Indo-US nuclear bill may still see the light of day. A key Democratic senator on Wednesday said he was ready to have the US Senate act quickly to approve the landmark deal. The Sensex had lost 84 points in volatile trade on Wednesday following the Democrats’ victory in mid-term polls.

The market ended with modest gains today after a highly volatile trading session. The barometer index rose 64.98 points (0.5%), to settle at 13,137.49. The S&P CNX Nifty added 19.10 points (0.5%), to settle at 3,796.40.

The Sensex had surged over 100 points in opening trade, but shortly slipped into the red. It managed to recover almost instantly. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index gained over 100 points for the day atleast two times before paring gains after the surge. Between some of the vital intra-day bottoms and tops, the Sensex swung about 430 points. Between the day’s low of 13,069.85 and a high of 13,192.89, it fluctuated 123.04 points.

The market-breadth was strong. Against 1,473 shares rising on BSE, 1,033 declined. As many as 88 shares were unchanged. Gainers outpaced losers by a ratio of 1.4:1. Select small-cap and mid-cap shares surged. There has been a surge in small-cap and mid-cap stocks on a selective basis since the past few days. Market men say that small-cap and mid-cap stocks are catching up with the surge in blue-chips since the past few days.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,088 crore compared to Wednesday's Rs 4,340 crore.

The market has been witnessing an uptrend since late-July 2006. Recently, strong Q2 results and a hefty FII-inflow aided the surge. The Sensex is up almost 40% in calendar 2006, so far.

FII-inflow in calendar 2006 has reached $7.14 billion. The inflows are strong, coming on the top of record annual inflow of $ 10.7 billion in 2005. The inflow totaled $6.59 billion 2003 and $8.5 billion in 2004.

The fund-flows into India are due to strong earnings growth of India Inc coupled with increasing recognition of India’s long-term growth prospects. India’s growth drivers are a favourable demography (large share of young population), robust domestic consumption and acceleration in infrastructure creation. Prime Minister Mahmohan Singh has promised a complete policy on infrastructure, including regulatory and institutional framework, to make it attractive for private participation in the near future.

Continued inflows from FIIs are notwithstanding apprehensions regarding stretched valuations of Indian equities.

In today’s trade, car major Maruti Udyog (MUL) lost nearly 3% to Rs 909.80. However, the stock came off the lower level after plunging as much as 3.7%, to a low of Rs 902 following reports that Nissan Motor Company has terminated talks with Japanese compact car maker Suzuki Motor Corp, for a project in which Suzuki was to build a Nissan model in India for sale in the local market. It may be recalled that following a recent tie-up between the two, MUL was to make cars in India at Manesar, in collaboration with Nissan Motor Company.

Hindalco Industries lost 3% to Rs 182.20, after the RBI said that foreign investors will not be allowed to buy shares in the firm without its permission, as foreign investment had touched the 22% limit.

Satyam Computer rose 3% to Rs 428, on reports that it has won a $71 million order for 7 years, from Australia's top airline Qantas Airways.

ICICI Bank gained 1.4% to Rs 794.90. The stock hit an all-time high of Rs 804 in late-trading. A block deal of 10 lakh shares was executed in ICICI Bank on BSE in the FII-segment, at Rs 801 per share. ICICI Bank expects interest rates to remain steady.

HDFC Bank gained 1.4% to Rs 1,017.

Tata Steel rose 2% to Rs 504. As per reports some of the major shareholders of Corus Group have sold their shares in the company, raising doubts about a counter offensive to Tata Steel’s $8 billion bid for the Anglo-Dutch steel maker.

Software major Infosys rose 0.8% to Rs 2,144. The scrip gained for the third day in a row today, after shareholders approved a sponsored ADR issue, on Tuesday.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 0.6% to Rs 1,260.

Recently listed Development Credit Bank jumped 5% to Rs 51.10. The stock rose on a heavy volume of 67.7 lakh shares on BSE.

Mahindra & Mahindra gained 6.6% to Rs 832 after Renault said on Thursday it was expanding its existing joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra to manufacture more models for the Indian market.

Indo Tech Transformers jumped nearly 14% to Rs 218.55, after the company fixed a board meeting on 20 November 2006, to consider the recommendations of the project monitoring committee to review the progress of various projects and consider the modification/enhancement of capacity at the large power transformer plant near Kancheepuram.

Petron Engineering Construction gained 5% to Rs 177.10. On Thursday, it garnered a contract worth Rs 50 crore from Grasim Industries for civil and mechanical work on the refractories at Grasim's cement project in Rajasthan.

Glenmark Pharma jumped nearly 6% to Rs 460. The stock has risen 54.6% in a short while from Rs 297.35 on 5 October 2006.

Financial Technologies jumped 7% to Rs 1,924.85. As per reports, the company plans to raise $200 million through equity, or other instruments, to fund its expansion. In October, the company's board had approved raising $500 million in tranches.

Infrastructure Development Finance Company gained nearly 5% to Rs 79.05. Bank of India and Union Bank of India have joined hands with Infrastructure Development Finance Company for loan syndication. The alliance expects to handle 16 projects worth Rs 11,500 crore over the next five months and 60 proposals worth Rs 45,000 crore over the following 12 months.

Sensex sheds 84 points

The weakness in the Asian markets weighed on the domestic indices, with the Sensex shedding 84 points and slipping below the 13000 mark on substantial selling pressure. After resuming 19 points above its previous close at 13176, the Sensex fell and languished in negative territory for a major portion of the trading session. The index slipped deeper into the red in the afternoon to touch the day's low of 12950. The Sensex finally ended the session with losses of 84 points at 13073, while the Nifty tumbled 21 points to close at 3777.

The market breadth was weak. Of the 2,594 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,704 stocks declined, 837 stocks advanced and 53 stocks ended unchanged. Barring the BSE IT index and the BSE Bankex, the remaining sectoral indices lost ground. The BSE CD index dropped 3.66% at 3198, the BSE Oil & Gas index shed 2% at 6141 and the BSE Auto index was down 1.73% at 5255.

Dragging down the market, Hero Honda shed 4.07% at Rs713, Bajaj Auto dropped 3.35% at Rs2,631, RIL lost 2.97% at Rs1,252 and HDFC tumbled 2.49% at Rs1,521. Reliance Communication, Tata Motors, ITC, Dr Reddy's, NTPC and BHEL were down by around 2% each. Hindalco, L&T, Maruti, Tata Steel, Satyam, Grasim, ACC, Ranbaxy, HLL, ONGC and Bharti Airtel also ended the day in the red. However, SBI rose 2.08% at Rs1,128, ICICI Bank jumped 1.77% at Rs783, Infosys added 1.12% at Rs2,126, Wipro gained 0.98% at Rs534 and REL moved up by 0.64% at Rs510. Cipla, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and TCS closed with marginal gains.

Consumer durables stocks came under considerable selling pressure. Videocon Industries shed 4.78% at Rs431, Titan Industries fell 3.77% at Rs741, Lloyd Electric declined 2.97% at Rs128, Goldiam International shed 2.07% at 121 and Rajesh Exports was down Rs2.02% at Rs228.

Over 72.10 lakh IFCI shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Shyam Telecom (68.33 lakh shares), Development Credit Bank (53.39 lakh shares), Morepen Laboratories (38.35 lakh shares) and HFCL (34.12 lakh shares).

Reliance Industries was the most actively traded counter on the BSE and clocked a turnover of Rs281.74 crore followed by Hindustan Zinc (Rs163.74 crore), Jaiprakash Associates (Rs146.89 crore), Shyam Telecom (Rs113.06 crore) and SBI (Rs105.76 crore).

84-point debacle

The market, seemingly, is tired after a sharp rally in the recent past. It ended in the red for the second straight day, as profit-booking continued. India’s premier index, the BSE Sensex, which has surged close to 40% during this calendar year, lost 84.15 points (0.64%), to settle at 13,072.51.

The market turned extremely volatile in the late-afternoon session of trade, slipping to a low of 12,950.07. However, it recovered later, as buying resumed. Its high for the day was 13,202.68, having oscillated around 253 points for the day.

The S&P CNX Nifty lost 21.45 points (0.56%), to 3,777.30.

The market-breadth, which was positive in the opening session, turned negative as smallcap and midcap stocks also were sold. On BSE, there were close to 2 losers for every single gainer. Only 881 shares advanced, against 1,1628 that declined. Just 64 shares were unchanged.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,305 crore, which is lower compared to Rs 4,688 on Tuesday.

Among the 30-Sensex pack, 22 declined while the rest advanced.

Bike maker Hero Honda was the top loser, down 3.77% to Rs 715, on 2.16 lakh shares. It slipped to a low of Rs 705.45, after hitting a high of Rs 744 in early trade. Rising input costs and intense competition triggered investors to unload shares of two-wheeler firms. The costs of inputs such as nickel, aluminium, rubber and steel is going up. Bajaj Auto hiked prices of its popular motorcycle models `Platina’ and `Pulsar’. It has raised the price of Platina by Rs 500 at the ex-showroom level. It may be recalled that in September 2006, Bajaj had cut price of Platina by Rs 2,000 in the face of stiff competition from rivals. Stocks such as TVS Motor (down 5.16% to Rs 102) and Bajaj Auto (down 3.55% to Rs 2,625) lost.

Bank stocks witnessed rally from their lows, in the fag hours of trade. The BSE Bankex was the major gainer among sectoral indices, up 60.34 points (0.94%), to end at 6,488.04. ICICI Bank was the top gainer, up 2% to Rs 785. IndusInd Bank (up 5.20% to Rs 46.45), UTI Bank (up 2.87% to Rs 437.50), ICICI Bank (up 2% to Rs 785), ING Vysya Bank (up 1.71% to Rs 178) were the gainers among private sector banks. State-run banks also participated in the rally. SBI (up 1.76% to Rs 1124.50), Allahabad Bank (up 2.30% to Rs 91) and Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.31% to Rs 34.85) moved higher.

Software major Infosys advanced 1.07% to Rs 2,125 on a voume of 4.52 lakh shares. It had surged to a 52-week high of Rs 2,151 in early trade. The scrip rose for the second day in a row after Infosys' shareholders on Tuesday approved an issue of up to 30 million sponsored American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). Infosys' ADR had risen 1.1% to $52.26 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday, following this news.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) slumped 2.93% to Rs 1,252.50 on a volume of 22.32 lakh shares. It slipped to a low of Rs 1,240.30, while its high for the day was Rs 1,295.

Car major Maruti Udyog lost 0.82% to Rs 936.25, amid volatile trade following reports that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry rejected the automaker's plea for granting special economic zone (SEZ) status to its upcoming facility at Manesar.

Tata Motors (down 2.36% to Rs 799), Reliance Communications (down 1.82% to Rs 380) and HDFC (down 2.88% to Rs 1515) also slipped.

Among side-counters, Hyderabad Industries surged 20% to Rs 298, on a high volume of 6.90 lakh shares. Its low has been Rs 250.

Ashok Leyland surged 4% to Rs 46.20, on high volumes of 21.87 lakh shares on renewed buying.

UTV Software surged 6.55% to Rs 248.80, on high volumes of 13.45 lakh shares. The stock surged to a 52-week high of Rs 261.35. There were reports that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is eyeing a sizeable stake in the company, which was later denied by the company.

KPIT Cummins lost 1.30% to Rs 591. The company’s board approved a 1:1 bonus issue and a stock-split from Rs 5 per equity share to Rs 2 per equity share.

KS Oils rose 2.61% to Rs 192.55, amid reports that private equity firms Actis and CLSA Capital, are in the race to buy 12-14% stake in the company.

Falcon Tyres jumped 10% to Rs 118.75, after India's market regulator ordered Wealth Sea to make an open offer to Falcon shareholders within 45 days.

Eveready Industries lost 0.20% to Rs 75.50, after rising to a high of Rs 78.80 on reports that it plans to raise product (battery) prices by 10 - 15% 1 December 2006 onwards, to counter rising prices of key input zinc.

Hindustan Zinc witnessed high volatility, moving in a range of Rs 1,008.90 and Rs 943.35. It closed 1.47% lower, at Rs 966.85 on a volume of 16.71 lakh shares. Zinc futures on the London Metal Exchange extended their rise, attaining a fresh record high of $4,525 a tonne, as short supplies and strong demand prompted funds to snap up the metal which is now up 137% so far this year.

Petron Engineering Construction lost 5% to Rs 168.70, despite bagging a contract worth Rs 15.50 crore from a firm in Kuwait.

Japan's Nikkei slipped 1.08% on Wednesday as investors sold Softbank Corp stock ahead of its earnings results, and due to caution before the outcome of US congressional elections. The Nikkei lost 177.67 points, to end at 16,215.74. The Hang Seng index extended its fall and was down 128.07 points (0.68%), at 18,811.24.

Most European markets were trading weak, the FTSE 100 declining 0.48% and the CAC 40 slipping 0.48%.

US stocks rallied on Tuesday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to an all-time high as investors bet mid-term elections will leave the government gridlocked, maintaining business-friendly policies. US stocks ended higher ahead of polling results, the Dow Jones rising 51.22 points (0.42%), to settle at 12,156.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 9.93 points (0.42%), to close at 2,375.88.

FIIs have been relentless in their support to the Indian market. As per provisional data, foreign funds were net buyers to the tune of Rs 316.66 crore on Tuesday (7 November).

Sensex snaps four-day winning streak

Profit-taking emerged in select frontline shares including index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL), which brought the Sensex down in a volatile trading session. Volatility in the Sensex was partly due to volatility in some of its constituents, namely, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 30 points (0.23%), to end at 13,156.66. The S&P CNX Nifty dropped 10.50 points (0.28%), to end at 3,798.75.

The market remained volatile throughout the day. The benchmark index, which had weakened in late trading, had earlier surged over 100 points in opening trade tracking firm global markets, to hit 13,300 level for the first time.

Between some of the vital tops and bottoms of the day, the Sensex swung over 300 points. Between the day’s low of 13,135.21 and a high of 13,300.69, it swung 165.48 points.

The market-breadth turned weak during the course of trading compared to that in early trade. For 1,390 shares declining on BSE, 1,124 rose. Just 80 stocks were unchanged. Losers outpaced gainers by a ratio of 1.23:1.

The turnover on BSE surged to Rs 4,714 crore from Monday’s Rs 4,265 crore.

Select side-counters surged. Punjab Communications (Rs 52.70), Shyam Telecom (Rs 158.75), Development Credit Bank (Rs 49.80), Pantaloon Retail (Rs 2156), Action Construction (Rs 244.65), Revathi Equipment (Rs 643), Indo Asian Fusegear (Rs 130.45), Centum Electronics (Rs 227.50), Suryajyoti Spinning (Rs 49.90), Nucleus Software (Rs 536), Apollo Hospitals (Rs 489), Binani Industries (Rs 320), Motherson Sumi Systems (Rs 99), Voltamp Transformers (Rs 512.55), Sesa Goa (Rs 1294), and Aban Offshore (Rs 1200) rose between 6 - 20%.

Firm global markets, due to ample global liquidity, have propelled the Sensex to an all-time high above 13,000. The BSE Sensex surged 224.99 points (1.7%) in the past four trading sessions, from 12,961.90 on 31 October 2006. It rose in all those four trading sessions.

The Indian equity market has benefitted from strong global liquidity. The domestic bulls have been going strong for about two years now. During this period, the market staged a strong comeback after some major corrections. In calendar 2006 so far, the BSE Sensex is up almost 40%.

However, valuations appear stretched. At 21.6 times its trailing 12-month September 2006 earnings, the Sensex is trading at a premium over its regional peers.

Last few trading sessions have witnessed a rally in select small-cap and mid-cap shares. Even as the Sensex has surged to an all-time high, a number of small-cap and mid-cap stocks are yet to see their all time highs since May 2006.

In today’s trade, RIL shed 1.4% to Rs 1,286.60, in contrast to the firm early trend when it had hovered at about Rs 1,312. The stock surged since late last month on multiple triggers, and played a key role in the benchmark index's surge by virtue of being a heavyweight. RIL has a huge 11.8% weightage in the Sensex.

Software major Infosys rose 1.6% to Rs 2,105. Infosys' shareholders today approved an issue of up to 30 million American Depositary Receipts before markets opened. At the time of announcing Q2 results, Infosys said that it was planning a sponsored ADR issue.

Housing finance major HDFC added 2.5% to Rs 1,566, extending its recent upmove, which has been triggered by expectations of growth in demand for housing loans in Maharashtra after the state government last week announced incentives for the housing industry.

Dr Reddy’s Lab rose 2% to Rs 793. Last month, the company reported robust Q2 results.

Metal shares rose tracking firm base metal prices on LME. Hindustan Zinc jumped 5% to Rs 987.60. On the London Metal Exchange, zinc hit a record high of $4,460 a tonne, up from Monday's close of $4,405 a tonne. Zinc futures have gained nearly 134% so far this year, outperforming other base metals.

Shares of oil marketing firms edged lower as crude price surged. Indian Oil Corporation lost 2.2% to Rs 505, BPCL shed 3.3% to Rs 389.65 and HPCL lost 3.4% to Rs 310. Oil marketing firms continue to make losses on sale of diesel, kerosene and LPG, while making profit on petrol.

Two-wheeler makers slipped. Bajaj Auto lost 2.6% to Rs 2,720 and Hero Honda shed 3% to Rs 737. The two-wheeler industry has been witnessing pressure on margins due to rising input costs and intense competition.

Car major Maruti Udyog lost 1.2% to Rs 943.50, on reports that the ministry of commerce and industry had rejected the automaker’s application for granting special economic zone (SEZ) status for its manufacturing facility being developed at Manesar, in collaboration with Nissan.

Tata Steel shed 1.8% to Rs 496.50. Tata Steel is optimistic it will complete the agreed takeover of Corus Group by January, Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman said on Monday. Some investors, including Standard Life Investments, the biggest shareholder in Corus, have said the agreed price of 455 pence per share was lower than expected.

FMCG giant Hindustan Lever ended flat at Rs 247.10. Volumes in the scrip were a hefty 28.2 lakh shares on BSE.

Iron ore exporter Sesa Goa jumped 6% to Rs 1,294, tracking a rally in mining stocks across global markets.

Hotel shares were in demand on strong prospects due to rising room rates and healthy occupancies. Indian Hotels rose 3% to Rs 148.75, Hotel Leelaventure rose 0.4% to Rs 64.65, EIH gained 5% to Rs 106 and Royal Orchid Hotels rose 2% to Rs 190.95. In terms of financial performance, the second half of the year – October-March period -- has been traditionally strong for the hotel industry.

GMR Infrastructure rose nearly 2% to Rs 353, after the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by Anil Ambani's Reliance Airport Developers challengiing the government's decision to award bids for modernising Delhi and Mumbai airports to rival bidders. "We find no merit in the plea," a bench comprising of two judges said. GMR has won the bid to modernize the Delhi airport.

Punj Lloyd rose 3.4% to Rs 874, after the company said on Tuesday it had been offered contracts worth Rs 1,163 crore from state-run Indian Oil Corporation for their refinery project at Haldia, West Bengal.

Recently-listed Development Credit Bank jumped 10.7% to Rs 49.80. The stock rose on a heavy volume of 1.22 crore shares on BSE.

Meanwhile, National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has revised up its 2006/07 economic growth forecast to 8.1% from 7.9% previously due to good monsoon rains, robust exports and foreign investment inflows. It expects GDP to expand by an average annual rate of 8.2% in the next five years. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday the economy can sustain 8 - 10% growth in coming years with more reforms.

Market slips marginally on late selling

The market witnessed selling pressure towards the close, after an early rally had seen the Sensex notch up gains of 114 points on sustained buying support. The Sensex began the day with gains of 22 points at 13209 on the back of firm Asian indices and surged above the 13300 level to touch a new intra-day high of 13301. The Sensex held firm above 13200 amid a range-bound trend for the better part of the trading session before the resumption of selling dragged it to the day's low of 13135. The Sensex ended the session with losses of 30 points at 13157, while the Nifty was down ten points at 3799. However, the other Asian indices like the Nikkei, the Hang Seng, the Kospi and the Straits Times closed with marginal gains.

The market breadth was negative. Of the 2,601 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,134 stocks advanced, 1,387 stocks declined and 80 stocks ended unchanged. On the sectoral front, the BSE CD index rose 1.46% at 3319 while the BSE FMCG index dipped 1.04% at 6266.

Among the losers, Bajaj Auto shed 2.63% at Rs2,722, Hero Honda dropped 2.35% at Rs743, Tata Steel lost 1.72% at Rs497, NTPC tumbled by 1.69% at Rs131, BHEL was down 1.65% at Rs2,430 and REL declined 1.55% at 507. ACC, L&T, RIL, Maruti and ITC were down around 1% each. Satyam, Grasim, Ranbaxy, Reliance Communication, ONGC, SBI, Wipro, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel ended the day in the red. However, HDFC rose 2.18% at Rs1,560, Gujarat Ambuja jumped 2.07% at Rs131, Dr Reddy's added 2.04% at Rs792, Hindalco gained 1.82% at Rs191 and Infosys moved up by 1.54% at Rs2,102. Cipla, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, TCS and HLL ended with marginal gains.

Over 1.22 crore Development Credit Bank shares changed hands on the BSE followed by IFCI (98.82 lakh shares), Himachal Futuristic (93.10 lakh shares), Welspun Gujarat (47.92 lakh shares) and GE Shipping (44.33 lakh shares).

Value-wise Hindustan Zinc registered a turnover of Rs227.10 crore on the BSE followed by GE Shipping (Rs152.32 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs134.10 crore), Jaiprakash Associates (Rs107.07 crore) and IVRCL Infrastructure (Rs91.88 crore).

Fourth straight day of gains

The BSE Sensex gained for the fourth straight day, as buying demand for the index pivotals continued at higher levels. The Sensex rose 56.10 points or 0.43% to 13186.89. This is an all time closing high for the Sensex. It opened on a firm note at 13155.11. It also struck an all time peak of 13206.87, during late afternoon session. Its low for the day was at 13113.39.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 3.9 points or 0.10% to 3809.25

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4240 crore, higher than Friday’s turnover of Rs 4034.07 crore.

Market breadth was positive on BSE, with 1395 shares advancing as compared to 1147 that declined. 54 remained unchanged. The BSE Small-cap index rose 61.44 points or 0.95% while the BSE Mid-cap index gained 57.65 points or 1.05%.

The market has risen for the past four days in a row. It has advanced 225 points or 1.74% during the past four trading sessions, from 12961.90 on 31 October. Sustained inflows from FIIs and strong set of Q2 September 2006 results from India Inc have helped market surge to all time highs. FII inflow in October 2006 totaled Rs 8013 crore, compared to their inflow of Rs 5425 crore in September and Rs 4643 crore in August 2006.

In today’s trade, 15 stocks advanced from the Sensex pack while the rest declined

FMCG major, HLL was the top gainer, up 4.76% to Rs 246.70 on 20.35 lakh shares on reports that the company is gearing up for price hike for the fourth time in the year and is to increase product prices by 4-10%. It moved in a range of Rs 237 and Rs 247.55

Besides HLL, a host of other FMCG stocks advanced on renewed buying following reports that they will resort to price hike. The BSE FMCG index advanced 2.35% or 47.99 points to 2088.88. It was the biggest gainer among the sectoral indices. Mc Dowell (up 5% to Rs 833.35), Colgate (up 0.24% to Rs 422), ITC (up 1.60% to Rs 190.20), Godrej Consumer (up 0.72% to Rs 160), Gillette India (up 2.23% to Rs 879) and Nirma (up 0.21% to Rs 376.75) rose.

Cement stocks advanced on expectations of continued strong demand and a rise in retail prices on the back of a boom in construction activity. ACC (up 1.01% to Rs 1017) and Gujarat Ambuja Cements (up 3.29% to Rs 127.25) advanced.

Other cement stocks, Shree Cement (up 5.25% to Rs 1279.40), JK Lakshmi Cement (up 3.37% to Rs 151.75) and India Cements (up 0.67% to Rs 224.70) rose.

Cipla rose 2.95% to Rs 263.50 after it received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug administration for selling insomnia drug zolpidem tartrate in the tablet form.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 1.56% to Rs 1307 on 14.33 lakh shares. It had struck lifetime high of Rs 1315.90 on strong buying demand. Its low for the day was at Rs 1281.

ONGC was the top loser, down 2.55% to Rs 855 on 4.73 lakh shares. It had slipped to a low of Rs 853.20, while its high of the day was at Rs 895.

Auto stocks witnessed selling pressure. Bajaj Auto (down 2% to Rs 2784) and Maruti Udyog (down 2.39% to Rs 951) slipped lower.

Shyam Telecom settled at Rs 139.05, compared to its last closing of Rs 60.50 on 24 July 2006. It had surged to a high of Rs 147.80, while its low is at Rs 72.60. The stock was re-listed on BSE today to give effect to its restructuring. A massive 1.35 crore shares changed hands on the counter on BSE.

Two block deals were struck on Godrej Industries counter, of 12.52 lakh shares each at Rs 166.15 and Rs 168.50 per share by 10:08 IST. The stock finished 5% higher at Rs 176.90 on total volumes of 37.60 lakh shares.

Siel climbed 3.28% to Rs 51.90 and Mawana Sugars went up 1.74% to Rs 73 after Siel announced that its board would meet on November 13 to consider merger of the company with Mawana Sugars.

Rajesh Exports rose 0.60% to Rs 238.70 after it launched two more jewellery retail showrooms at Chandigarh and Delhi, under the brand name of ‘Laabh Jewellers’

Software developer i-flex solutions rose 2.54% to Rs 1573 on market talks that Oracle Corporation would increase the open offer price to purchase shares in the Indian company. In September, Oracle had offered to buy 16.629 million shares of i-flex solution, or 20%, at Rs 1,475 a share.

Thermax rose 1.56% to Rs 346 after the company bagged new orders worth Rs 383 crore for two captive power projects. With the latest orders, Thermax’s current fiscal order booking exceeds 250 MW of captive power plants valued at about Rs 1,000 crore.

Elecon Engineering Company jumped 7.08% to Rs 319.95 after it received orders aggregating to Rs 29.24 crore towards design, manufacturing, testing and supply of wagon tippler, stacker reclaimers, other equipment and spares.

Indiabulls Financial Services advanced 2.58% to Rs 476.60 on 13.60 lakh shares after its unit received in-principle approval from the federal government to develop a multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) in Maharashtra.

Solectron Centum Electronics jumped 10% to Rs 206.85 after the company decided to separate services business into a separate company effective from 01 October 2006. The new company would be called Solectron EMS India (SEIL). At present, the company has two businesses, products business and services business. The services business comprises of electronic manufacturing services (EMS). The products division makes hybrid microcircuits.

Hexaware Technologies surged 5.12% to Rs 182.75 after it bought US-based specialized testing consulting firm FocusFrame for $ 34.3 million in an all-cash deal. At the time of announcing the acquisition of FocusFrame, Hexaware also said it expects FocusFrame to post a revenue of $24 million in 2006.

Williamson Magor spurted 10% to Rs 62.60 after it announced that it has signed a joint venture agreement with UK's D1 Oils Trading and Williamson Magor Bio Fuel for the manufacture of bio-fuel from Jatropha seeds.

Tantia Construction rose 0.65% to Rs 139.30 after it said on Saturday, it had won an order worth Rs 56 crore to set up a sewerage and drainage project in Kolkata.

S Kumars Nationwide lost 2.21% to Rs 77.50. It has scheduled a board meet on Thursday (09 November) to consider a proposal to acquire a home textiles company in the United States. Last month, the company's board had approved raising up to $65 million through equity to fund acquisitions and expansion.

Zinc producer, Hindustan Zinc rose 2.69% to Rs 940 after it raised zinc prices by Rs 1,200 a tonne, or by 0.54% to Rs 2,23,000 with immediate effect. The company also increased lead prices by Rs 700 a tonne, or 0.83% to Rs 85,300.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 14.74 points or 0.09% to 16,364.76 while the Hang Seng index advanced 186.86 points or 1% to 18,936.55

As per provisional data, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 11 crore on Friday, 3 November, the day when Sensex had risen 40 points.

Oil prices slipped Monday after threats of disruptions to production in Nigeria and the United States failed to materialize. Crude oil prices for December delivery dropped 42 cents to $ 58.72 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Sensex scales new heights

Twice during the day the Sensex moved above the 13200 level to touch an intra-day high of 13206.
The trading session was marked by range-bound moves and the market ended the day with the Sensex up 56 points at 13187 while the
Nifty closed at 3809,
up four points. Twice during the day the Sensex moved above the 13200 level to touch an intra-day high of 13206 before settling at its closing level.

There was weakness mainly in the PSU stocks, which topped the losers chart. Meanwhile, the market leaders like Infosys, Reliance Industries, Wipro and Satyam traded around their previous closes and did not have much impact on the market movement during the day. However, the day was ruled by HLL, which shot up by over 4% at Rs246.70. Bharat Forge, Glaxo Pharma, Indian Hotels and Crompton also recorded gains of over 4% each. The other counters that ticked positively during the day included Zee Tele, Tisco, Cipla and i-flex.


Maruti, BPCL, HPCL, Neyveli Lignite, Bank of Baroda and a few other PSU stocks were among the top losers during the day followed by Britannia, Wockhardt and Bajaj Auto.

A large number of second-line stocks recorded a sharp rise in their prices amid substantial volumes. Among the major gainers, HCL Info, Blue Star Info, TV18, Balaji Telefilms, Kopran Drugs, Saregama and Aban Lloyd topped the charts.

The cash segment clocked a combined turnover of over Rs12,000 crore as 1,415 scrips advanced on the BSE and 1,131 scrips declined during the day. Over 40 scrips touched new 52-week highs including Reliance Industries, i-flex Solutions, Indiabulls, India Infoline, BHEL and Grasim Industries.

Sensex sizzles past 13100 in late rally

A sudden late spurt in heavyweight and sectoral stocks saw the Sensex close at 13131.
The northbound trend remained intact for the third consecutive session, with the Sensex registering smart gains on buying in heavyweights and several
sectoral stocks. After opening in positive territory at 13119, the market came under the influence of weak Asian indices and tumbled to an intra-day low of 13018 amid profit taking. The Sensex moved into positive territory and rallied past 13100 to touch a new high of 13147 in a late rally. The Sensex wrapped up the session with gains of 40 points at 13131. The Nifty gained 14 points to close at 3805.

However, the market breadth was negative. Of the 2,602 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,408 stocks declined, 1,116 stocks advanced and 78 stocks ended unchanged. Among the sectoral indices the BSE CD index led the upmove and rose 1.45% at 3266 followed by the BSE PSU index (up 1.24% at 6119) and the BSE Oil & Gas index (up 1.05% at 6318).

Leading the rally REL vaulted 6.90% at Rs511. ONGC surged 4.62% at Rs878, Gujarat Ambuja advanced 3.27% at Rs123, Dr Reddy's jumped 2.62% at Rs781, HDFC soared 2.6% at Rs1,480, ACC added 2.54% at Rs1,007, Bajaj Auto surged 2.12% at Rs2,839, NTPC gained 1.70% at Rs132 and Tata Steel moved up by 1.13% at Rs493. BHEL, Grasim, RIL, SBI and Cipla ended the day with marginal gains. However, Tata Motors shed 1.68% at Rs815, TCS was down 1.24% at Rs1,067 and Hindalco closed with losses of 1.06% at Rs187. HLL, Maruti, HDFC Bank, ITC, Wipro, Hero Honda, ICICI Bank, Infosys Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Satyam, Reliance Communication, L&T and Ranbaxy ended the day with marginally losses.

Over 133.02 lakh IFCI shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Silverline Technologies (92.39 lakh shares), Voltas (61.38 lakhs shares), Reliance Natural Resources (50.78 lakh shares) and Petronet LNG (47.02 lakh shares).

Value-wise Reliance Industries registered a turnover of Rs152.26 crore on the BSE followed by Kalyani Steel (Rs91.85 crore), McDowell (Rs80.18 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs74.17 crore) and Hindustan Zinc (Rs71.62 crore).

Sensex beats previous best

Widespread buying across the board saw the Sensex end the day at a new closing high of 13091.
Buoyed by the strong international indices and continuing foreign institutional investor inflows, the market extended its upmove for the second
consecutive session and touched a new intra-day high of 13138 on broad-based buying support. The Sensex made a perfect start by commencing firm at 13063, 30 points above its previous close of 13033. After crossing 13100 in early trades, the market remained extremely upbeat in the second half of the trading session as strong gains led by oil and gas, CD, PSU and CG stocks lifted the index to a new intra-day high of 13138. The Sensex wrapped up the session with gains of 58 points at 13091, while the Nifty advanced 24 points to close at 3791.

Driving the rally, ONGC surged 4.35% at Rs839. Maruti advanced 2.03% at Rs982, RIL gained 1.53% at Rs1,284, HDFC Bank surged 1.47% at Rs1,009, Bajaj Auto shot up by 1.41% at Rs2,781, Ranbaxy jumped 1.41% at Rs404, Bharti Airtel added 1.40% at Rs549, L&T moved up by 1.35% at Rs1,339 and Dr Reddy’s was up 1.26% at Rs761. HDFC, Reliance Communication, SBI, Grasim, ACC, ICICI Bank, HLL and Hero Honda also ended in positive territory. However, on the negative side, Satyam was a major loser and shed 1.79% at Rs427 followed by ITC that was down 1.05% at Rs187. Infosys shed 0.90% at Rs2,081 and Hindalco slipped 0.84% at Rs189. NTPC, Wipro, Tata Steel, Cipla, REL, TCS, BHEL, Gujarat Ambuja and Tata Motors ended the day with marginal losses.


The breadth of the market was mixed. Of the 2,591 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,224 stocks advanced, 1,295 stocks declined and 72 stocks ended unchanged. On the sectoral front, the BSE Oil & Gas index was the biggest gainer and was up 1.86% at 6252 followed by the BSE PSU index (up 1.17% at 6045), the BSE CD index (up 1.03% at 3220) and the BSE CG index (up 0.78% at 8807).

Over 89.35 lakh Development Credit Bank shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Silverline Technologies (88.85 lakh shares), Reliance Natural Resource (50.42 lakh shares), Indiabulls (42.62 lakh shares) and Morepen Laboratories (39.99 lakh shares).

Value-wise Reliance Industries registered a turnover of Rs207.21 crore on the BSE followed by Indiabulls (Rs200.64 crore), Gayatri Projects (Rs80.59 crore), Ansal Infrastructure (Rs80.46 crore) and Tata Motors (Rs78.10 crore).

Sensex ends buoyant, gains 71 points

The market witnessed strong bullish sentiment in the afternoon, but fell short by 25 points from surpassing the new all-time high of 13076. After exhibiting a sluggish trend yesterday, the Sensex opened 31 points above its previous close at 12993, but slipped below yesterday's close on profit taking to touch the day's low of 12937. However, the market steadily gained momentum on renewed optimism and rallied sharply on sustained buying in oil and gas, capital goods, FMCG and heavyweight stocks to touch an intra-day high of 13051. The Sensex wrapped up the session with gains of 71 points at 13033, while the Nifty advanced 23 points to close at 3767.

Leading the upsurge, Reliance Industries advanced 3.10% at Rs1,264, Reliance Communication soared 2.56% at Rs389, Bharti Airtel jumped 2.08% at Rs541, SBI gained 1.88% at Rs1,116, Gujarat Ambuja added 1.83% at Rs119, BHEL surged 1.83% at Rs2,459, HLL added 1.43% at Rs237, Hero Honda advanced 1.16% at Rs765 and ACC was up 1.12% at Rs979. Grasim, Hindalco, NTPC, L&T, Dr Reddy's, Infosys, ITC and Tata Motors ended the day in the green. However, HDFC slumped 2.88% at Rs1,428, Cipla tumbled 1.95% at Rs257, ONGC shed 1.43% at Rs804, Satyam declined 1.28% at Rs435 and HDFC Bank dropped 1.01% at Rs994. REL, Maruti, Ranbaxy, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel also ended the day in negative territory.

The breadth of the market was mixed. Of the 2,590 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,262 stocks advanced, 1,254 stocks declined and 74 stocks ended unchanged. On the sectoral front, the BSE Oil & Gas index was the biggest gainer and was up 1.53% at 6139 followed by the BSE CG index (up 0.84% at 3187), the BSE FMCG index (up 0.78% at 2065) and the BSE TECk index (up 0.76% at 3296).

Over 1.20 crore Reliance Natural Resources shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Development Credit Bank (92.57 lakh shares), Silverline Technologies (87.34 lakh shares), Nandan Exim (83.53 lakh shares) and IFCI (36.18 lakh shares).

Value-wise Reliance Industries registered a turnover of Rs292.48 crore on the BSE followed by McDowell (Rs133.14 crore), Tech Mahindra (Rs128.24 crore), Hindustan Zinc (Rs107.66 crore) and Alstom Projects (Rs79.57 crore).

Market slips on profit taking

After registering gains of 325 points in the last two sessions, the market slipped on profit taking in early trades and the Sensex lingered in negative territory throughout the trading session. Even as the major Asian indices recovered from yesterday's slump, the Sensex faltered after touching a new intra-day high of 13076 in early trades. Further, the RBI in its credit policy hiked the repo rate by 0.25%, which further hurt the market sentiment and increased the selling pressure in the afternoon. The weakness in heavyweight, tech, banking and consumer durables stocks dragged the index to the day's low of 12908, 116 points below its last close. The Sensex finally closed with losses of 62 points at 12962. The Nifty dropped 25 points and closed at 3744.

Dragging down the market, Reliance Communications shed 3.71% at Rs379, Bharti Airtel tumbled 2.18% at Rs530, Wipro slipped 3.11% at Rs538, Tata Motors slumped 2.83% at Rs828, HDFC Bank shed 2% at Rs1,004, Gujarat Ambuja Cements lost 2.05% at Rs117 and Tata Steel declined 1.59% at Rs490. However, select blue chip counters managed to clock decent gains. HLL rose 2.12% at Rs234 on impressive third quarterly numbers. Satyam gained 2.37% at Rs441, HDFC jumped 1.31% at Rs1,470, ITC added 1.25% at Rs190, ONGC advanced 1.37% at Rs816 and Hero Honda was up 1.39% at Rs756.

Except the BSE FMCG index, the rest of the sectoral indices ended in the red. The BSE Teck index dropped 1.29% at 3271 while the other indices were down around 1% each. However, the BSE FMCG index advanced 1.49% at 2049 on the back of good earnings numbers from HLL, Tata Tea and Dabur India. The breadth of the market was weak.

FMCG stocks bucked the downtrend and rallied sharply on sustained buying support. Colgate soared 7.55% at Rs415, McDowell shot up by 5.97% at Rs753, United Breweries gained 5.44% at Rs179, GTC Industries advanced 4.84% at Rs195, Jagatjit Industries added 4.54% at Rs70 and Kothari Products was up 2.76% at Rs510.

Over 1.55 crore Reliance Natural Resources shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Silverline Technologies (72.32 lakh shares), Nandan Exim (66.36 lakh shares), Mysore Cements (54.02 lakh shares) and Morepen Laboratories (48.70 lakh shares).

Value-wise Jaiprakash Associates registered a turnover of Rs242 crore on the BSE followed by Hindustan Zinc (Rs208 crore), Tech Mahindra (Rs164 crore), Tata Motors (Rs98 crore) and Reliance Industries (Rs89 crore).

Market falters after touching new intra-day high

The Sensex was on the verge of touching the 13000 level in early trades and touched a new intra-day high of 12994 before profit taking pulled it down and weighed on the
sentiment throughout the session. The fall came after the Sensex had notched up gains of 574 points in the last three trading sessions. On the back of weak Asian indices, early trades saw the Sensex slip into the red after adding 66 points to its previous close. The cautious trend with a negative bias prevailed for the rest of the trading session, with the index taking a sharp dip in the afternoon to touch the day's low of 12819, 109 points below its last close. Renewed buying in metal and other counters saw the Sensex pare losses to a considerable extent and end the session with losses of 44 points at 12884. The Nifty shed nine points to close at 3715.

Dragging down the Sensex, HDFC Bank tumbled 3.58% at Rs1,009, HLL declined 2.19% at Rs232, HDFC fell 2% at Rs1,515, Infosys dropped 1.13% at Rs2,074, NTPC lost 2.13% at Rs128, TCS dipped 1.46% at Rs1,114, Grasim slipped 1.67% at Rs2,624 and Gujarat Ambuja Cements was down 1.11% at Rs120. However, Satyam rose 3.27% at Rs450, BHEL advanced 1.95% at Rs2,463 and Hero Honda moved up by 1.57% at Rs758.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Metal index jumped 1.33% at 8908 while the BSE FMCG index fell 1.12% at 2048. The market breadth was negative. Of the 2,556 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,646 stocks declined, 838 stocks advanced and 72 stocks ended unchanged.

Movers & Shakers

* Cadila Healthcare gained on receiving the USFDA nod to market Zonisamide capsules in the USA.
* Micro Technologies declined despite signing an agreement for Home Security System Micro HSS with Macrosoft Associates of the USA.


Among the metal stocks Hindustan Zinc soared 9.74% at Rs820, Binani Industries surged 5.24% at Rs309, SAIL gained 4% at Rs86, Kalyani Steel added 3.88% at Rs321 and Lanco Industries moved up by 3.67% at Rs41. Bhushan Steel Strips, Ispat Industries, Sterlite Industries and GMDC were up 1-3% each.

Over 93.08 lakh Nandan Exim Bank shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Atlanta (79.03 lakh shares), Gayatri Projects (46.80 lakh shares), Action Construction Equipment (36.31 lakh shares) and SAIL (34.67 lakh shares).

Value-wise Atlanta registered a turnover of Rs265 crore on the BSE followed by Hindustan Zinc (Rs198 crore), Gayatri Projects (Rs148 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs129 crore) and Satyam (Rs98 crore).