The Hindu Business Line : Midcaps gain; pivotals succumb to selling pressure

A CAUTIOUS mood prevailed in the market on Wednesday, while frontline stocks declined, mid-cap stocks recorded gains. The market succumbed to selling pressure losing the initial gains recorded. The market appears to have dumped sugar stocks, which have recorded sharp gains in the recent sessions.

The BSE Sensex opened marginally higher at 6757.49 points; the index recorded sharp gains in the early hours and went on to touch a high of 6806.72 points. Failing to sustain the pace, it went on a slide into the negative territory to close at 6746.88, down 5.57 points.

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The S&P CNX Nifty moved in a similar fashion. The Nifty moved in the positive territory for most of the day, bowing to selling pressure the index closed lower by 0.16 per cent.

Steel stocks continued to generate interest; investors appeared to have bought on expectations of a rise in steel prices. Key stocks in the steel sector — Tata Steel, SAIL, Ispat Industries, Essar Steel, SAL Steel, Uttam Galva and National Steel & Agro Industries recorded gains. Jindal Steel & Power and Jindal Stainless bucked their downward trends to register marginal gains. Bushan Steel and Strips registered a gain of nearly five per cent; the company had announced its plans to borrow Rs 2,000 crore to set up a steel plant in Orissa.

Refinery stocks recorded gains on expectations that the OPEC would increase the output of crude on the back of recent spurt in prices. The price of crude fell 1.1 per cent in New York on Tuesday. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, Chennai Petroleum, Indian Oil Corporation, Kochi Refineries, Mangalore Refineries & Petrochemicals and Bongaigaon Refinery & Petrochemicals closed higher.

Key sugar stocks did a volte-face on Wednesday; Dhampur Sugar, Oudh Sugar, Kothari Sugars, Dwarikesh Sugar, Bajaj Hindustan, Rajshree Sugars, Sakthi Sugars and Balrampur Chini shed value.

Stocks of diamond and jewellery companies, Classic Diamonds, Su-raj Diamonds, Profeesional Diamonds, Golkunda Diamonds and Jewellery, Sovereign Diamonds and Suashish Diamonds supported by buying interest recorded sharp gains of more than nine per cent. Rajesh Exports gained Rs 16.15; the company had bagged an order worth Rs 132 crore for the supply of jewllery from Excel Goldsmiths of the UAE.

A mixed trend prevailed in the banking sector. Sharp gains in key banking stocks pulled up the sectoral index on the BSE. J&K Bank, Kotak Bank, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank and Andhra Bank closed with gains. ICICI bank reached a new 52-week high at Rs 407.7 on buying interest. Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, UTI Bank, Union Bank and Punjab National Bank closed lower.

Stocks of automobile manufactures shed value on expected rise in price of steel. Ashok Leyland, Hero Honda and TVS Motors closed lower by more than one per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra gained marginally on the back of announcements that the automaker is to increase its vehicle prices to account for rising steel prices and stricter pollution norms.

Stocks of consumer durable companies BPL, Videocon International, MIRC Electronics, Titan and Whirlpool Industries recorded gains.

GHCL supported by buying interest rose sharply to touch a new high of Rs 48.6, the stock then went onto close at Rs 47.9 recording a gain of 10.5 per cent.

Prominent gainers among the Nifty constituents were ICICI Bank, National Aluminium Company, Zee Telefilms, Tata Consultancy Services and Gujarat Ambuja Cements.

Significant losers on the Nifty were GlaxoSmithKline, Bharti Tele-Ventures, VSNl, Larsen & Toubro and Satyam Computer.

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