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B. Krishnakumar

SNAPPING the three-day losing streak, the key market indices ended on a positive note on Thursday. The BSE Sensex closed at 5713.1, up by 36.37 points over Tuesday's close of 5676.3. The S&P CNX Nifty closed up by 7.85 points at 1794.75.

The strength in technology sector stocks was the key factor that propped indices and the market sentiment. The robust earnings growth reported by industry heavyweights — Infosys and TCS, has attracted market attention towards the sector.

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As a result, top software companies such as Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and TCS logged sharp gains on Thursday. The share price of Infosys shot up by 6 per cent or Rs 103.45 to settle at Rs 1,815.70. The TCS stock closed at Rs 1,116.20, up by Rs 31.75, over Tuesday's close.

Apart from the technology sector shares, the firm trend in price of Reliance Industries was instrumental in helping the key market indices close in the positive zone. The share price of Reliance Industries rose Rs 7.70 to Rs 542.65.

The likes of HDFC, Bharti Tele, Hindalco and Tata Steel were prominent losers among index stocks. The share price of HDFC dropped by Rs 35.60 to settle at Rs 654.45.

Along with Hindalco and Tata Steel, the companies having presence in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals industry took a knock on Thursday. The weakness in price of key metals including aluminium, copper and tin imparted negative sentiment towards metals stocks such as Tata Steel, Hindalco, Hindustan Zinc, Sterlite and National Aluminum, who were prominent losers from the industry.

The share price of Hindalco Industries dropped by Rs 91.20 to settle at Rs 1,237.10. Trading volumes increased to 1.59 lakh shares from Tuesday's 1.2 lakh shares.

The other major aluminium producer — National Aluminium fared no better. The stock recorded a 6 per cent drop to Rs 169.95. Compared to 5.23 lakh shares recorded the previous day, trading volumes jumped to 9.9 lakh shares on Thursday.

Along with metal producers, the companies in the shipping business too ended the day in the losers list. G.E. Shipping and Shipping Corporation were major losers from the sector. The share price of G.E. Shipping dropped by Rs 7.40 to Rs 164 and Shipping Corporation by Rs 5.90 to Rs 169.95.

While the top shipping companies — G.E. Shipping and Shipping Corporation ruled weak, Mercator Lines managed to close on a positive note.

The share price of Mercator Lines shot up by 7 per cent to Rs 620.60 while trading volumes edged up to 81489 shares from 71548 shares. The rise in value has to be viewed in the backdrop of the announcements made by the company.

Mercator Lines plans to offer shares to promoters and overseas investors at a price of at least Rs 650 per share. Besides, the company has decided to initiate a stock-split whereby the face value of its shares would stand reduced to Re 1 from Rs 10.

Sona Koyo Steering, Indian Oil Corporation and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals were the other prominent gainers of the day. The share price of Sona Koyo Steering shot up by 10 per cent to Rs 54.50. Trading volumes saw a near three-fold rise to 3.33 lakh shares from 1.2 lakh shares recorded the previous day. The company's board is meeting on Friday to consider the proposal to make investments in a joint venture in France.

Indian Oil Corporation stocks increased by Rs 12.70 to settle at Rs 432.05. Trading volumes jumped to 4.03 lakh shares from 2.19 lakh shares. The reports that ONGC is considering buy-back of its shares held by Indian Oil Corporation appears to have triggered the rise in share price.

After being subdued over the past few days, there was renewed market interest in the Glenmark Pharma counter on Thursday. Trading volumes zipped ahead to 3.25 lakh shares from 49099 shares recorded on Tuesday. The share price went up by 7.4 per cent or Rs 21.15 before closing at Rs 308.50.

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