The Hindu Business Line : Markets take a breather

The markets ended on a flat note, although after a rather volatile trading session. The BSE Sensex closed 1.74 points lower at 6618.23, led by declines in the stocks of SBI, HDFC Bank and Infosys. The S&P CNX Nifty declined by 1.5 points to close at 2077.95 points.

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The Sensex opened on a strong note at 6635.8, after which it soared to a high of 6684.16. It soon tumbled to its low of 6571.16, reflecting an intra-day swing of 113 points.

Towards the final hours of trading, the mood turned cautiously optimistic, with the benchmark index once again attempting to enter positive territory. But the buying interest could not be sustained, and the index ended the day marginally lower than Thursday's closing.

Sentiment appeared to be split right down the middle, as is reflected by the advance-decline ratio. About 50 per cent of the 30 stocks constituting the Sensex advanced while the remaining declined. The key index gainers were ACC, HDFC and Dr Reddys. The stock of ACC gained more than 3 per cent on expectations that Holcim may raise its offer price for 20 per cent in the company.

Cement and select pharmaceutical stocks traded firmly while banking stocks were out of favour. The BSE Bankex Index declined more than 1 per cent as against the 0.03 per cent drop of the Sensex. The stock of SBI declined by 1 per cent, even as it announced the acquisition of a 51-per cent stake in Indian Ocean International Bank, Mauritius.

The stocks of ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were also down by a percentage point each. Other stocks that figured in the loser's list include Vijaya Bank, UCO Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda and Oriental Bank. The stocks of IOB and J&K Bank, however, bucked the trend, ending the day higher by about 2 per cent each.

Textile stocks were back in action on Friday. The stocks of S. Kumars Nation and Super Spinning touched their upper circuit filters. The stocks of Ashima, Nahar Exports and Maral Overseas also gained about 10 per cent. Stocks of Arvind Mills, Alok Industries, Malwa Cotton and Patspin India were also actively traded.

The stock of Arvind Mills gained Rs 6.95 to close at Rs 130.35. The number of shares traded jumped from 6.6 lakh shares on Thursday to 17.2 lakh shares on Friday.

The stock of Hanil Era Textiles was up Rs 5 to close at Rs 33.55. One of the larger acrylic yarn exporters in the country, the company announced that it has bagged orders worth Rs 25 crore from a company in South Korea. Volumes jumped from 3.2 lakh shares to 13.08 lakh shares.

A couple of stocks such as Sesa Goa, Taj GVK and Pantaloon Retail, which have been on an upswing in the last couple of trading sessions took a day off to cool down. The stock of Pantaloon Retail, which has been relentlessly appreciating in the last couple of sessions, declined by Rs 9.75 to close at Rs 829.95. Pantaloon is to pick up a 49-per cent stake in Planet Sports for Rs 14.2 crore.

The stock of ITC gained Rs 11.8, or less than 1 per cent, to close at Rs 1341.15. The High Courts at Kolkata and New Delhi have approved the merger of ITC Hotels and Ansal Hotels with the company. The stock of ITC Hotels gained more than 1 per cent to close at Rs 158.

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