The Hindu Business Line : Profit-booking in tech, auto stocks limits gains

FOLLOWING the gains on Tuesday, the markets opened on a positive note. The rally in the banking stocks helped the bellwether indices post gains in the initial hour of trading. The markets, however, failed to hold on to the gains as profit-booking in the tech and auto stocks subsequently pulled the indices down. The Sensex finally ended the day gaining 3.3 points while the Nifty also ended with marginal gains.

The Sensex opened at 6466.9, reached an intra-day high of 6515.8 before closing at 6467.92.

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The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 2024.9, slipped into the red in the post-lunch session reaching a low of 2018.1 after which it saw some recovery before closing at 2025.40.

The markets witnessed mixed action as the repeated attempts by the bulls were countered by selling pressure by the bears, which had the benchmark indices trading in a narrow range. The tone of the market was reflected in the advances to declines ratio of 0.8 with 647 stocks appreciating while 775 stocks shedding value.

There were mixed trends in the banking stocks. Shares of HDFC Bank surged after its fourth quarter net profit increased by 30 per cent to Rs 665 crore. The stock was up 0.5 per cent when it closed at Rs 561.40.The other stocks that clocked gains were Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Oriental Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Union Bank. The stocks of SBI, PNB, Corporation Bank, Centurion Bank and Bank of India suffered market losses.

In the cement sector, stock of Gujarat Ambuja, the country's fourth largest cement maker gained sharply on reports of stock split and bonus issue. The stock rose to a high of Rs 439.50 before closing at Rs 425.50, up by 4.8 per cent. The stocks of ACC and Grasim also witnessed modest gains, gaining 1.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.

There was heavy selling pressure in the tech stocks. The stock of Infosys was subdued at Rs 2,101.5 (down 0.7 per cent) as investors stayed cautious, ahead of the results on Thursday. The stocks of Wipro and Satyam also traded weak. The stocks of TCS and HCL Tech were up by around 1.5 per cent on an average.

There was selective buying on the counters of auto stocks. The stocks of Maruti, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto were up by around one per cent on an average. The stock of Hero Honda Motors declined after the net profit for the fourth quarter saw a dip of 2 per cent. The stock declined by around Rs 13, losing 2.2 per cent. TVS Motors, M&M and LML led the losers' pack.

The performance in the metal stocks was lacklustre with the stocks of Essar Steel, Ispat, Tata Steel and SAIL shedding value. In the non-ferrous sector, Hindalco and Madras Aluminium also declined by around 1.6 per cent.

Much of the action took place in the pharmaceutical sector. The stocks of Aventis Pharma, Glennmark Pharma, Matrix Lab and Pfizer surged up.

Market action was also witnessed in the mid-cap space. The stocks of Crompton Greaves, Marico Industries and Shree Cement also flared up. The stock of Helios & Matheson Information Technologies surged by Rs 16.10, up by 10 per cent to close at Rs 177 after it announced a plan on Tuesday to buy local rival vMoksha Technologies.

On the back of selective buying in the FMCG sector, the stocks of Dabur India, HLL, P&G, ITC, Nestle and Britannia recorded smart gains.

Oil stocks took a beating as the stocks of ONGC, IPCL and BPCL recorded losses.

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