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Suresh Krishnamurthy

STOCK prices, which had turned weak in the last few trading sessions, reverted to their bullish mode and the Sensex soared past the 5,200-mark on Tuesday. With 28 out of the 30 Sensex stocks advancing, the index gained 1.9 per cent. Nifty almost kept pace with the Sensex ending the day with a 1.8 per cent gain.

Keeping with the surging demand for small and mid-cap stocks, the CNX Midcap 200 index gained the most during the day. About 95 stocks recorded gains of 15 per cent or more at BSE. Major gainers included a host of technology stocks, especially the mid-cap and small-cap variety. Stocks such as Rolta India, Sonata Software, Hexaware and Kale Consultants rose more than 13 per cent. Stocks such as GTL, HFCL, Silverline Technologies, Pentamedia Graphics and Trigyn Technologies also rose sharply.

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The consumer durable index at BSE was the biggest gainer. Stocks such as BPCL, Samtel Colour, Whirlpool and Bluestar rose in value. Other major gainers included KSB Pumps, Tata Coffee, Wimco, Gufic Biosciences and Panacea Biotec.

Stocks of banking companies such as Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and ICICI Bank also gained. The stock of LIC Housing Finance, whose cost of funds is slated to drop because of a reduction in interest cost on funds lent by its promoter Life Insurance Corporation, also rose in value. Eicher and Eicher Motors surged ahead backed by large volumes. Eicher has announced the re-organisation of its automobile division and its wholly owned investment subsidiary along with a recast of its capital structure. Technology stocks such as Mastek and Cranes Software also gained from news developments. The bagging of a 10-year contract with a value of about Rs 200 crore helped Mastek gain 4.5 per cent. Similarly, a proposed GDR offering helped Cranes Software gain 2 per cent.Small-cap stocks such as TTK Prestige, Shiv Vani Universal and Soni Infosys also rose in value. The stock of TTK Prestige rose 10 per cent in the wake of the company's announcement of a recast of its debt. Shiv Vani Universal's stock rose 13.8 per cent with the company announcing its intention to invest in a joint venture with an overseas company. Soni Infosys announced its entry into a BPO venture and the stock surged 10 per cent.

The stocks of Pudumjee Agro, Pudumjee Pulp and Shanti Gears were among the day's gainers. Promoters of these companies have bought shares from the market. Similarly, the stock prices of Hughes Software, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra and VisualSoft stayed firm despite news that officers or directors of the company have sold part of their holding.

The stock of Digital Globalsoft also stayed firm in spite of the manager to the open offer made by HP announcing that the tender price of Rs 750 would not be changed. The market price is now higher than the tender offer price. The stock of Global Trust Bank, which is reportedly scouting for a partner, also stayed firm. The partly paid-up stock of Elgi Equipment rose from Rs 11 to about Rs 40 backed by large volumes. Stocks of Bharat Electronics, EID Parry, Gujarat Heavy Chemicals, India Glycol, Kirloskar Oil Engines, LIC Housing Finance and Sesa Goa were among 75 stocks that rose to a new 52-week high.

Major losers included stocks of companies that are in restructuring mode such as Excel Industries, Centurion Bank and IDBI. The stock of Bank of Punjab, which is rumoured to be the subject of a takeover, rose to a 52-week high only to end the day with losses. The stock of Cholamandalam Investment declined by 2 per cent. The company announced a 1:2 rights offer at a price of Rs 55 per share on Monday.

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