The Hindu Business Line : Appreciating rupee deflates techs

THE stock markets, which traded in a narrow range on Monday, ended the day in the positive territory, aided by heavy buying activity during the last hour of trading. The BSE Sensex, which soared by 114 points on Friday, ended higher again on Monday by 42 points to close at 5571.37 points.

The Nifty gained about 15 points to close at 1762.05, up from the previous close of 1742.50 points. In the last three trading sessions, the Sensex has regained about five per cent.

The Sensex opened on a positive note but soon fell into the negative territory on selling pressure. It traded in a narrow range for a greater part of the trading session. Buoyed by the buying in the index heavyweights in the last hour of trading, the benchmark managed to appreciate by about 0.77 per cent from its previous day close of 5528.94 points.

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Of the 30 shares constituting the Sensex, 21 advanced while nine declined. The overall market sentiment was also positive with nearly two stocks advancing for every stock that declined. The appreciation was, however, predominantly in the A- and B1-category stocks.

Banking stocks were in the limelight. ICICI Bank was among the stocks that led the gains. The stock, which soared by more than five per cent on Friday following announcements of the price band of its equity issue, put on another 5.27 per cent to close at Rs 299.65. State Bank of India gained Rs 15.15 to close at Rs 608.25. Other gainers were Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Federal Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. Federal Bank touched a new high at Rs 372.70.

Tech stocks were weak on Monday. These stocks have been volatile in the past few days as margins come under pressure on the appreciating rupee. Infosys, Satyam and Wipro, who were among the gainers on Friday, were prominent losers on Monday. CMC and MphasiS BFL bucked the trend and posted higher gains.

Energy stocks were also in favour. Stocks that registered gains included GAIL, Tata Power, Neyveli Lignite, IOC, IPCL and HPCL. A prominent loser was ONGC.

Tata Power was among the top gainers of the day. It appreciated by Rs 17.5 to close at Rs 387.05.

Another major gainer was BHEL, which appreciated by 5.24 per cent to close at Rs 593. The stock has gained more than 12 per cent in the last one week. Select auto stocks such as Maruti Udyog, Tata Motors and Hero Honda also witnessed some buying interest. Tata Motors appreciated by Rs 6.70 to close at Rs 473.05. This rise could be viewed in the backdrop of its completion of the acquisition of Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, Korea. Mahindra & Mahindra declined marginally.

Pharma stocks ruled strong on Monday. Small- and mid-cap stocks were in the limelight. Stocks that registered major gains were Lyka Labs, Kopran, Matrix Labs and Glenmark Pharma. Glenmark gained Rs 2.65 to close at Rs 144.35. This was on the back of news that it has declared an interim dividend of 65 per cent.

KEC International gained Rs 6.3 to close at Rs 74.45. The gains came in the wake of its completion of its first Iraq reconstruction project. It has also secured further orders in Iraq with a total value of Rs 75 crore.

Gujarat NRE Coke appreciated by Rs 2.75 to close at Rs 61.95. This comes on the back of news that it has declared an interim dividend of 15 per cent for the financial year 2003-04.

Stocks that reached new highs include Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank and Radico Khaitan.