The Hindu Business Line : Another rollercoaster ride for Sensex

MARKETS remained volatile on Tuesday, as the benchmark BSE Sensex closed the second trading day of the week on a negative note. The 30-stock index was down 21.01 points (0.41 per cent).

It was yet another day of rollercoaster ride for Sensex. The index opened at 5117.52 points, about six points lower than the previous day's closing. However, sharp selling pressure during the first two hours of the trading saw the index to reach the day's low of 4976.01 points. Sensex steadily gained after that and reached the day's high of 5143.93 points, registering an intra-day swing of about 168 points. The profit booking during the last hour of the trading session saw the index to close lower at 5102.22 points.

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On the BSE, most of the indices barring BSEPSU, registered declines. On the NSE, the S&P CNX Nifty fell 2.15 points (0.13 per cent) to 1606.7 points. Trading volumes on the NSE rose marginally to 22.9 crore shares from the previous day's volume of 22.1 crore shares.

On the BSE, of the total 1,784 stocks that were traded, 737 (41 per cent of the stocks) gained in value, 986 (55 per cent) logged declines and the rest remained unchanged. The decline was higher at 62 per cent in `A' group stocks. Among the Sensex constituents 11 stocks advanced and the rest declined.

Barring ICICI Bank, which fell by 3.3 per cent, key index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies and ITC closed the day marginally higher. Fuelled by the strong global crude oil prices the stock of ONGC also rose 3.3 per cent to Rs 731.6.

The stock of Tata Motors fell by 3.5 per cent. The company plans to raise funds, not exceeding Rs 2,250 crore, through an issue of securities. Other Sensex constituents that registered sharp decline include HPCL (4.1 per cent), Reliance Energy (4.7 per cent) and Maruti Udyog (4 per cent).

Large trading volumes were seen in the stocks of Satyam Computer, Tata Steel, SAIL, Mangalore Refineries, Union Bank, State Bank of India and Arvind Mills.

Kotak Mahindra Bank fell by 3.1 per cent to Rs 371.45 despite posing over 100 per cent growth to its profits in the recently concluded quarter. The company has declared a dividend of 24 per cent for the financial year 2003-04. It also has plans to issue bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1.

Granules India fell marginally by 0.5 per cent to Rs 69.6. It has allotted 4.14 lakh shares to its promoters on preferential basis.

Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals rose by three per cent to Rs 49.85 on the back of good earnings performance in the recently concluded quarter. During the quarter ended March 2004, its net profit grew to Rs 551.2 crore, from Rs 80.3 crore registered in the corresponding previous period.

SRF Polymers rose 5.5 per cent to Rs 40. After the close of the day's trading, SRF Ltd has announced that it plans to make an offer to acquire the polyester film operation of SRF Polymers at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore.

Max India rose by 4.9 per cent to Rs 174.15. Warburg Pincus, a private equity fund, plans to pick up 29 per cent stake in Max India by investing Rs 200 crore.

Madhucon Projects rose five per cent to Rs 100.3. The stock has steadily gained over the last few trading sessions.

Sharp gains were also seen in the stocks of Hindustan Organic Chemicals (12 per cent), Madras Fertilizers (11.8 per cent), Greaves Cotton (11 per cent), Maars Software (9.3 per cent) and Jain Irrigation (9 per cent).