RIL at record high above Rs 1700 as market ends slightly up

The market edged slightly higher after the key barometer index, BSE 30-share Sensex moved between positive and negative zones throughout the day.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) struck a new high above Rs 1,700 in late trade. State Bank of India (SBI) bounced back from lower level in late trade, whereas car major Maruti Udyog skid at the fag end. Tata Motors drifted lower in late trading after its Q4 results hit the market.

Cellular services major Bharti Airtel recovered from lower level in the second half of the trading session, whereas cement pivotals weakened. Two private banks HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank nudged higher.

The Sensex’s provisional closing was 14307.90, a gain of 8.19 points. The market came off higher level in mid-afternoon trade after reports filtered in that three persons were killed in a powerful bomb blast at Meeca Masjid near Charminar in Hyderabad.

Just before the news of the blast had filtered in on the bourses, the market had firmed up. The Sensex had risen as much as 37.35 points to 14,337.06 at 13:50 IST.

In afternoon trade, the Sensex had recovered from a 60.71-point fall to 14,239 at 12:22 IST. The slide in early afternoon trade had taken place soon after inflation data hit the market. Before that the market had turned range bound in mid-morning trade after staging a solid rebound on an initial near 100-point fall.

The market breadth was weak: 1,488 shares declined on BSE as compared to 1,112 shares that rose, while 88 shares were unchanged. Losers outpaced gainers by a ratio of 1.3:1. The breadth turned negative from positive in early afternoon trade.

RIL rose 1.1% to Rs 1704.50. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1705 at the fag end of the trading session. The stock advanced for the third day in a row today.

Bajaj Auto declined 9% to Rs 2265. At the onset of the trading session, the stock had come off lower level after an initial neary 13% fall to Rs 2,179. On BSE, 11 lakh shares were traded. The scrip tumbled for the second day in a row on concerns of the low call options that Germany's Allianz can exercise to lift its stake in two insurance joint ventures.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements lost nearly 4% to Rs 118.90. The stock witnessed a sustained fall during the course of the day today. ACC shed 1.4% to Rs 876, off early high of Rs 908. A block deal of 1.9 lakh shares was executed in the scrip at Rs 895 on BSE.

Tata Motors dropped 1.4% to Rs 740. Tata Motors today reported a 26% growth in net profit to Rs 577 crore in Q4 March 2007, from Rs 458 crore in Q4 March 2006.

Index heavyweight ICICI Bank was up 1.8% to Rs 953. The stock had come off the higher level in early afternoon trade from an initial 1.3% rise to Rs 948.80. It had surged in the last few days following the move by the Reserve Bank of India to allow banks to trade credit default swaps, which are used to hedge credit risk.

HDFC Bank rose 2.7% to Rs 1,065. The private sector bank said on Thursday, 17 May 2007, its board had approved raising additional share capital of $1 billion or Rs 4200 crore, whichever is higher, to meet the growing demand for loans.

State Bank of India edged up 0.7% to Rs 1338. The stock came off the lower level after it had lost as much as 1.5% to Rs 1307.60 at 12:21 IST when inflation data had trickled in the market.

The wholesale price index rose 5.44% in the 12 months to 5 May 2007, lower than the previous week's increase of 5.66% due to a high base the year before, data showed on Friday, 18 May 2007. The annual inflation rate was 4.37% in the corresponding week of the previous year.

BSE said on, Friday 18 May 2007, it had completed the sale of 51% of equity shares to 19 domestic and overseas investors, including 10% sold to two foreign exchanges. The BSE's member-brokers tendered their shares in the exchange at Rs 5,200 per share. "With the new ownership structure in place, BSE is well poised to pursue growth opportunities aggressively," said Rajnikant Patel, BSE’s Managing Director and CEO.

European markets held firm on Friday 18 May 2007. Key benchmark indices in London, Germany and France were up by between 0.5% to 0.6%.