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Shanthi Venkataraman

THE markets began the week on a buoyant note, with the Sensex soaring to a new intra-day high at 6,719.20. It however, settled at 6,679.37 points, which is 45.57 points or 0.7 per cent higher than its previous close.

The Sensex has appreciated about eight per cent over the past month. The S&P CNX Nifty gained 16 points or 0.78 per cent to close at 2,098.25 points. Tech stocks continue to be in favour, while banking stocks also attracted selective buying interest.

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Action in the mid-cap space was muted with the CNX Midcap 200 gaining only 0.15 per cent, underperforming other key indices.

The Sensex opened on a strong note and ruled firm for most of the trading session. During the last hour, however, there was some selling pressure, which pushed the benchmark index to lower levels. The index, however, remained in the positive territory.

Among the 30 stocks constituting the Sensex, 19 advanced, while 11 declined, reflecting the positive undertone in the markets.

Key index gainers include BHEL, Infosys, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Satyam and Hero Honda.

The stock of BHEL rose sharply to close at Rs 860.3, up five per cent from its previous close of Rs 818.45.

The stock of Hindustan Lever slipped by Rs 3.40 or 2.2 per cent to close at Rs 151.90, following the announcement of disappointing quarterly results. The stocks of Reliance and ITC also figured in the loser's list.

Technology stocks were in the limelight during Monday's trading, as was the case in the international markets, with the prospects appearing bright for the sector.

The CNX IT index recorded a gain of 2.52 per cent against the 0.78 per cent return of the Nifty.

Aside from Infosys, Satyam and Wipro, the stocks of Tata Elxsi, MphasiS BFL, TCS and i-flex Solutions, were also prominent gainers. The stock of Tata Elxsi gained 7.20 per cent.

The stock of MphasiS BFL put on smart gains of more than five per cent, following the announcement of its acquisition of London-based, Princeton Consulting, in an all-cash deal worth £7.73 million. The stocks of Hughes Software and Hexaware Technologies were notable losers.

With lending activity continuing to remain robust, select banking stocks also attracted buying interest.

The stocks of SBI and ICICI Bank were up by more than one per cent each. The stock of Bank of Baroda gained Rs 3.3 or 1.5 per cent to close at Rs 212.10. The bank has received approval from the Central Government for its second public issue of 71 million equity shares.

Hospital stocks, Apollo Hospitals and Indraprastha Medical Corporation, have also been evincing investor attention.

The stock of Apollo Hospitals gained 8.5 per cent or Rs 27.9 to close at Rs 357. Volumes were also strong at about 14 lakh shares.

Media stocks took a knock on Monday. The stocks of NDTV, TV18, TV Today, Mid-day Multimedia and Pritish Nandy Communications were among those that ended the day in the red, while that of Zee Telefilms remained flat. The stock of NDTV declined more than five per cent to close at Rs 177.60.

Other stocks that were prominent gainers for the day include Sakthi Sugars, Satnam Overseas, Maral Overseas, Impex Ferro and Helios and Matheson. The stocks of Sakthi Sugars and Satnam Overseas gained 8.4 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively after RBI raised the limit on overseas investments in both companies.

The stock of Sirpur Paper Mills gained eight per cent to close at Rs 129.40. The company is considering issuing shares on a rights basis.

Stocks that figured in the loser's list include SBI Home Finance, Oudh Sugar Mills, Aarti Industries, Suven Life Sciences, Sintex Industries, Kirloskar Oil and Voltas.

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