The Hindu Business Line : Reliance, Grasim lead market recovery

After opening on a weak note, the benchmark indices dropped further only to stage a sharp recovery towards the close of the day's trading. The 30-share Sensex touched an intra-day low of 5870.55 before closing at 5957.05. This represents a 13.38-point rise over Tuesday's close of 5943.64.

The firm trend in Reliance Industries and Grasim Industries played a key role in helping the Sensex close in the positive territory. The share price of Reliance Industries went up by Rs 11.4 or 2.01 per cent to close at Rs 579.65.

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While the Sensex managed to close on a positive note, the S&P CNX Nifty had to contend with a 9.95-point drop and closed at 1916.75. The decline in the share price of Gas Authority of India and Hindustan Lever played a key role in preventing the index from closing in the positive note. While Hindustan Lever forms part of both the indices, Gas Authority of India is not a constituent of the Sensex.

Apart from Reliance and Grasim, Tata Steel, Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro were other prominent gainers from the stocks that constitute the index. The share price of Tata Steel increased by 2.78 per cent or Rs 11.95 to close at Rs 442.45.

The likes of Hindustan Lever, Dr. Reddy's Labs, Cipla and Bajaj Auto were major losers from the Sensex. The share price of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories dropped by Rs 30.35 to settle at Rs 1411.65. Hindustan Lever closed at Rs 209.85, down Rs 3.35 from the previous day's close.

Reversing a two-day losing trend, the share price of Grasim Industries recorded a 5.17 per cent increase to close at Rs 1,050.25. Trading volumes increased marginally to 1.42 lakh shares from 1.38 lakh shares recorded on Tuesday. In the first two day's of trading this week, the share price of the company dropped by 5.5 per cent to close at Rs.998.6 on Tuesday.

Along with Grasim, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and ACC were other prominent gainers from the cement sector. The share price of Gujarat Ambuja Cements increased by Rs 6.5 to Rs 314.6, while trading volumes dropped to 6.17 lakh shares from 6.91 lakh shares.

After a sharp drop on Tuesday, the share price of ONGC recovered by Rs 18.5 on Wednesday before closing at Rs 902.15. Trading volumes dropped to 8.45 lakh shares from 9.55 lakh shares. The stock had suffered a Rs 50.85 drop on Tuesday before settling at Rs.883.65.

Along with ONGC, another group company — MRPL was also a prominent gainer of the day. The stock registered a 5.42 per cent rise to close at Rs 57.4. The trading volumes however dropped to 26.6 lakh shares from 27.8 lakh shares. The stock has gained by about 12 per cent since January 1.

The recent bull-run in Tata Power stock was extended to Wednesday's trading as well. It gained Rs.19.95 to end the day at Rs.371.9. Trading volumes dropped to 20.79 lakh shares from 20.93 lakh shares recorded the previous day. The stock has recorded a 40 per cent rise in last one month's trading.

After a sharp drop on Tuesday, technology heavyweights Infosys Technologies, Wipro and Digital Global managed to find a place in the gainers list. The share price of Infosys increased by Rs 19.4 to Rs 5674.05, while Wipro's share price went up by Rs 16.5 to Rs 1692.7.

The trend in the other major technology stocks remained lacklustre. The share price of Satyam Computers was almost unchanged while i-flex and NIIT had to contend with a drop in value.

Godrej Industries, Gujarat Mineral Development and Mahindra Ugine were the other prominent losers of the day. The share price of Gujarat Mineral dropped by 13.75 to Rs.248.75. Trading volumes dropped sharply to 64018 shares from 1.07 lakh shares recorded on Tuesday.