The Hindu Business Line : Sensex shoots up sans volatility

CASTING aside the volatility witnessed over the past week, the stock markets launched on an optimistic note this week. The BSE Sensex appreciated by 139.87 points (or 2.42 per cent) to settle for the day at 5926.22 points. Unlike the intra-day volatile trading seen in the past, the Sensex was on a northward journey right through Monday, with significant gains in the last half an hour of trading. There was broad-based buying in diverse sectors such as banking, metals, technology and auto stocks.

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The Sensex opened at 5810.21 points, touched a low of 5807.73 points early in the day and a high of 5935.68, before closing marginally lower. The underlying strength was evident in the Sensex, in which 28 out of 30 stocks appreciated in value. Among the prominent gainers in the Sensex were Reliance, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Hindalco and Wipro. The losers were Dr. Reddy's Labs and Bharti Tele-Ventures.

Out of 2,058 stocks traded during the day, 1,341 stocks advanced in value while 640 stocks logged declines.

The S&P CNX Nifty appreciated by 47.05 points (or 2.57 per cent) to close at 1880.70 points. Apart from the Nifty, the CNX Midcap 200 also gained 42.15 points (or 2.57 per cent) to settle at 1680.95 points.

Among the significant gainers during the day were Escorts, Amtek Auto, Bank of Rajasthan, Federal Bank, NIIT and Balaji Telefilms. Buoyed by robust trading volumes, the Escorts stock surged by Rs 8.2 or 13.4 per cent to settle for the day at Rs 69.35. Trading volumes in the stock jumped from 4.10 lakh shares on Friday's trading to 8.62 lakh shares during the day.

The Amtek Auto stock was another prominent gainer, with the stock soaring by Rs 42.15 (or 11.08 per cent) to close for the day at Rs 422.30. Compared with 11,467 shares traded on Friday, the trading volumes in the stock jumped to 2.86 lakh shares during the day.

Riding on strong trading volumes, the Bank of Rajasthan stock gained Rs 4 to close for the day at Rs 43.95. Trading volumes in the stock marched up from 8.69 lakh shares on Friday to 18.31 lakh shares during the day.

Given the strong gains in both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite, the software services stocks - both frontline and second rung attracted heightened trading activity. The NIIT stock was one of the gainers, with the stock appreciating by Rs 18.15 (or 9.3 per cent) to settle at Rs 212.70. The trading activity was quite feverish, with volumes rising from 4.77 lakh shares on Friday's trading to 7.64 lakh shares during the day.

Among the prominent losers were Kirloskar Ferrous, GG Automotive, Unitech, Dr. Reddy's Labs, Sterlite Industries and Bharti Tele-Ventures.

The Kirloskar Ferrous stock was among the notable loser, with the stock declining by Rs 1.85 (or 9 per cent) to close at Rs18.65. Trading volumes in the stock rose from 1.26 lakh shares on Friday to 5.27 lakh shares during the day.

The GG Automotive stock declined by Rs 1.06 to settle at Rs 12.42. Compared with 50,398 shares traded on Friday, volumes increased to 61,951 shares.

The Dr. Reddy's Laboratories stock shed Rs 81.40 to close for the day at Rs 1,251. Trading volumes soared from 51,102 shares on Friday to 1.52 lakh shares during the day. The company has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Compaq Electric to a Bangalore-based company in two instalments.

The Sterlite Industries stock declined by Rs 20.65 to close at Rs 615.70. The trading volumes inched up marginally from 50,689 shares on Friday to 51,596 shares during the day.