Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Mar 04, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Mar 04, 2005 |
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Markets
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Commentary Columns - Sensor All-round buying lifts market to new high Alagappan Arunachalam
THE bulls had a field day; many stocks touched their all-time high. Investors appeared to be more than satisfied with the Budget. The Finance Minister's clarification on the `fringe benefit tax' and `banking transaction tax' appears to have done the trick. Key stocks, both new and old economy, posted smart gains. For every one stock that declined three registered gains. The breadth of the market was evident in the gains recorded across all sectors and categories in the markets. However, the trade turnover was lower than Wednesday's. FIIs have been pumping in funds over the past week; they appear to be driving the upward movement in the market. The BSE Sensex opened higher at 6,700.79 points; the index then went on a continuous upward trend to touch an intra-day high of 6,794.22 before closing at 6,784.72, registering a gain of 97.83 points than Wednesday's close. Key stocks, ONGC, Infosys, Reliance, Wipro and Bajaj Auto, led the rally. The S&P CNX Nifty opened marginally higher at 2,093.4 points. It closed at 2,128.75, a gain of 1.7 per cent from Wednesday's close. The CNX IT outperformed the Nifty, putting on a gain of about 52 points. Auto stocks appeared to be the favourites; the BSE Auto index gained 2.5 per cent outperforming the Sensex. The stocks of Escorts, Swaraj Engines, Bajaj Tempo, Munjal Showa and Hindustan Motors put on gains of more than three per cent. The stock of Tata Motors rose by Rs 15.35; the auto major had unveiled a new vehicle at the Geneva motor show. Bharat Forge stock gained Rs 19.55; the company had announced plans to raise around Rs 1,320 crore and a hike in the FII limit to 40 per cent. Buying interest was evident in the stocks of tech companies. Stocks of Infotech Engineers, Mascon Global, Geodesic Information Systems and Aztec Software rose sharply by more than five per cent. Stocks of pharma companies, Cipla, Wockhardt, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Ranbaxy and Matrix Labs gained more than one per cent. Aurobindo Pharma, backed by strong volumes, recorded a smart gain of Rs 15.45. Banking stocks were also on the rise, particularly those in the public sector. Shares of Vijaya Bank, UCO Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India gained more than one per cent. The stock of ICICI Bank continued its upward trend; it gained Rs 7.25 to close at Rs 396.70. Select buying was witnessed in construction stocks. IVRCL Infrastructure and Projects, Gammon India, and Hindustan Construction recorded smart gains of more than six per cent. The stock of Nagarjuna Construction gained Rs 35.55. It registered a 52-week high of Rs 564 in intra-day trade. The company had announced that it had bagged orders worth Rs 331 crore in February. Stock of textile companies - Raymond, Arvind Mills, Century Textiles, Mahavir and Indian Rayon - registered marginal gains. The stock of Bombay Dyeing continued its upward trend. It registered a gain of Rs 44.3 to close at Rs 352.75, and over two lakh shares were traded on the BSE. Prominent gainers on the Nifty were Tata Chemicals, Dabur, Mahindra & Mahindra, MTNL and Maruti. Significant losers among the Nifty constituents were Larsen & Toubro, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bharti Televentures, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank and GlaxoSmithKline.
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