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Aarati Krishnan

IT was a day of listless trading on both the bourses on Friday, with the BSE Sensex fluctuating by 60 points intra-day, before closing at 5315.8 points, 15.8 points higher than the previous close. With this, the Sensex has put on 184 points or 3.6 per cent over the present week. The S&P CNX Nifty index put on just 3.5 points during the day's trading to close at 1698.9 points.

Some of the frontline technology stocks recouped value during the day. But much of action happened outside of the Sensex and Nifty constituents, with the mid-cap indices registering a sharper rise in value than the above 30 and 50-stock indices.

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Steel and technology stocks were among the most active in the day's trade. Trading volumes surged, not only in frontline steel companies such as SAIL and Tata Steel, but also on second-line stocks such as Essar Steel, Lloyds Steel and Sunflag Iron and Steel, on both the bourses. The Tata Steel stock rose by Rs 13.1 during the day to close at Rs 378.6, with 40.8 lakh shares changing hands. Saw Pipes appreciated by Rs 23.1 to close at Rs 305.2, with a surge in its transaction volumes. Steel stocks have been on an upward spiral through the week, after news of yet another round of price increases on steel products by the leading companies, in the early part of the week.

Among the Sensex stocks, gains were driven by Infosys, HDFC and Satyam Computer, apart from Tata Steel. Infosys gained Rs 57.6 to close at Rs 5030.7, while HDFC gained Rs 19.9 to end at Rs 633.4. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, ITC and Wipro led the list of losers among the index constituents. While ICICI Bank shed Rs 4.5 or 1.6 per cent during the day, ITC shed Rs 8.6 to close at Rs 965.5. Within the Sensex, the number of stocks which declined, overwhelmed those which advanced, 16 to 14.

There was, however, significant price action outside of the index stocks. Tata Chemicals was among the largest gainers on Friday, with the stock adding Rs 8.6 on the BSE to close at Rs 138.3. Hinduja TMT rose Rs 27.4 to close at Rs 368.5. Orchid Chemicals was another mid-cap stocks which saw a lot of action, closing Rs 19.9 higher at Rs 238.3.

MTNL, Wipro and Bajaj Auto were prominent losers. While MTNL lost Rs 3.4 to close at Rs 116.7, Bajaj Auto shed Rs 12.9 to end at Rs 1010.

Several mid-cap stocks registered heightened trading interest. LML attracted a significant jump in volumes on both the bourses.

On the BSE, the volumes in the stock surged from an average of 1.8 lakh shares to 13 lakh shares, with a Rs 4.9 gain in its price. The stock closed at Rs 68.6. Ajanta Pharma also saw a jump in its volumes on both the bourses. On the BSE, the stock jumped by Rs 3.7 to close at Rs 70.1, with 12.7 lakh shares changing hands on Friday.

The Bank of Punjab stock, which has been catalysed by speculation about a possible takeover, despite a denial issued by the company to the exchanges during the week. The stock saw 37.04 lakh shares change hands during the day, and closed marginally lower by Rs 1.9, at Rs 32.4.

Coromandel Fertilisers saw a surge in transaction volumes on the NSE, adding Rs 21 to its previous close, to end at Rs 150. The company has recently formalised the acquisition of the farm inputs division of EID Parry, which will take effect from December 1, 2003.

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