The Hindu Business Line : FMCG, banking, IT stocks propel bourses

The Sensex opened the week on a flat note at 6790.3 and saw some weakness in the morning session. However, with fresh buying interest among the IT, banking, capital goods and FMCG stocks, it regained lost ground as it closed the day at 6832.7, up 50.7 points.

The S&P CNX Nifty also opened in tune with the Sensex at 2090.7, slipped to a low of 2081.7, and staged a smart recovery to close the day at 2102.8, up 12.1 points.

The undertone in the markets was largely bullish. While 705 shares advanced, 557 registered a decline.

On the BSE, the BSE Bankex was the out-performer, which gained 1.8 per cent. While on the Nifty, the Bank Nifty outperformed the other indices with a gain of 0.6 per cent.

The bulls were very active across the counters of banking stocks. ICICI Bank was the biggest gainer and shot up 4.1 per cent. HDFC Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Allahabad Bank, SBI, Bank of India, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda also ended with respectable gains. However, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Oriental Bank and UTI Bank failed to buck the trend as they ended weak.

IT stocks also witnessed strong buying interest. Infosys was up 0.4 per cent on reports that the IT giant may consider a share split.

Satyam Computer rose 1.9 per cent after it announced it had won a multi-million dollar order from Invista, a global leader in polymers and fibre business for maintenance of software system.

Among the second rung IT stocks, Polaris was up sharply by 10 per cent. Other gainers included TCS, iGate Global, HCL Technologies and Ramco Systems. However, Sonata Software, Patni Computers, Wipro and Hexaware came in for some selling pressure.

There was widespread action among the capital goods stocks, which put up a smart show. While HMT was up 6.4 per cent, L&T surged 4.5 per cent.

KEC International, BHEL, Havell India, Praj Industries and Dredging Corporation also recorded sharp gains. However, profit-booking in Thermax, SKF, Alfa Laval, BEML, Siemens and Greaves Cotton dragged them down.

Most of the automobile stocks were characterised by lacklustre trading.

Maruti, which announced a price cut of about 7.6 per cent on its 800 model, saw a dip of 0.8 per cent in its stock price. Munjal Auto, Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda and TVS Motor also exhibited weakness.

M&M, which earlier announced that its board might consider spinning off its small truck manufacturing operations into a separate unit, recorded an increase of about 3 per cent. Tata Motors and Asahi India managed to move up marginally.

Most of the stocks in the metals sector were subdued amid concerns of a further fall in metals prices. Sesa Goa suffered a sharp loss of 6.1 per cent. Kalyani Steel, National Aluminium, Jindal Vijaynagar, Hindustan Zinc, Uttam Galva, Ispat, Tata Steel and Bhushan Steel came in for sharp selling pressure. Those that stood out from the losers were Essar Steel and Jindal Stainless, which gained 27.6 and 1.4 per cent respectively.

Notable gainers on the Nifty were Amara Raja Batteries, Berger Paints, Bombay Dyeing, Gokaldas Exports and Indian Hotels. Losers include Apollo Tyres, Container Corporation, GE Shipping, Gammon India and Shoppers' Stop.

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FMCG, banking, IT stocks propel bourses