The Hindu Business Line : Mid-caps outperform major indices

FOR the second straight day, the markets looked up. This time, the gain was across sectors such as steel, cement and telecom. A number of mid-caps too gathered momentum as the price rise was accompanied by a good rise in volumes.

However, banks stocks that led the rally the day before shed some gains. The broader indices raced ahead of the Sensex and Nifty reflecting an all-round pick up in activity. A clear shift towards mid-cap stocks was visible.

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The BSE Sensex rose 48 points to close at 4756 points. The Nifty gained 18 points to 1488.5 points. Traded value of stocks, however, was lower at Rs 4,120 crore against Rs 4,906 crore recorded on Thursday on the NSE.

Steel stocks shed China fear: Across the board, steel stocks zoomed after reports that the demand in China is stabilising and the effect of the lower offtake from China might not have a major impact as expected. Moreover, steel prices have stabilised even as raw material prices have cooled off.

Both first- and second-rung steel stocks were among the top gainers. Tata Steel, SAIL, Essar Steel, Jindal Vijaynagar, Jindal Steel, Steel Strip and Ispat Industries gained sharply. Traded volumes too were higher. SAIL gained as much as 15 per cent while Tata Steel gained 7.7 per cent to close at Rs 296.

Mid-caps hold the sway: The mid-cap stocks were in the limelight. The NSE Midcap 200 index gained 2.64 per cent, outperforming both the Nifty and the broader S&P CNX-500.

A number of mid-cap stocks such as Merck, Titan, Birla Corporation, Jain Irrigation, Kesoram Industires witnessed active trading. IDBI, Cummins India, Ashok Leyland, Birla Jute, Sesa Goa, Motherson Sumi, Today's Writing, Kochi Refineries, Cadila Healthcare, TVS Motor and Punjab Tractors were a few top gainers.

Cements firm: Cements stocks gathered interest, as cement prices remained firm in a season when prices usually blip. Analysts expect June quarter results to be better due to the firm prices. Stocks such as Grasim, Gujarat Ambuja, ACC, Madras Cements and India Cements perked up. India Cements rose as much as 6.3 per cent to Rs 28.5. Others gained more than two per cent.

Software and banks subdued: Technology stocks remained subdued in a rather cheerful day. The NSE tech index CNX-IT gained just 0.88 per cent against an over one per centrise in other indices.

After a temporary boost in bank stocks on Thursday, profit booking pulled down these stocks. Among them PNB, HDFC Bank and SBI lost over one per cent. The BSE Bankex lost 1.6 per cent while all other sectoral indices moved up.

Results push: A few stocks such as Tata Tea and Titan Industries perked up after the declaration of earnings numbers. Both Titan and Tata Tea recorded impressive performances. These stocks gained for the second straight day. Volumes too picked up in both the stocks. Titan gained 10 per cent and Tata Tea three per cent.

Apollo Hospitals too picked up interest after a subdued trading for a long time. The stock gained 4 per cent to close at Rs 214. The company had announced a 22-per cent rise in net profit for 2003-04.

Major gainers and losers: Other major index gainers were Britania, GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Tata Power, Bharti and VSNL.

Reliance Industries remained firm on the news of a new gas find and an overseas acquisition. The stock closed at Rs 431.6, up 2.08 per cent.

Tata Motors has bagged a license to supply 9,000 trucks per annum for supply to the defence segment. This would enable the company to bid for tenders floated for supply of defence-related vehicles. The stock gained 2.2 per cent to Rs 379. Maruti too moved up in tandem with the general market mood.

Some of the major losers were Gammon India, Orient Hotels, Kinetic Engineering, Lupin, HLL, Matrix Laboratories, ICICI Bank. ONGC, BHEL and Ranbaxy.