Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Sep 20, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Sep 20, 2005 |
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Markets
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Stock Markets Columns - Sensor Frontline stocks rule firm on bull charge Radhika Kamath
THE northward journey continued on the bourses, with bulls taking charge. All-round buying and continued foreign institutional investment support helped the markets end the day in a positive territory. The Sensex gained 63.8 points to close at 8,444.8 and the Nifty was up by 14.7 at 2,567.1. The early trades on Monday witnessed widespread buying action among the frontline stocks, which propelled the indices to higher levels. While the frontline stocks led the market rally, those in the mid-cap and small-cap space also remained firm and contributed to the overall buoyancy. Sesa Goa was a significant gainer whose stock shot up by 20.7 per cent. Having breached the Rs 1,000-mark, the stock settled down at Rs 1044.8. Other notable gainers were Amtek Auto, BEML, HMT, Titan, Monsanto and Gateway Distriparks. The relentless buying, which continued for the third consecutive session, saw the Sensex reach an intra-day high of 8,461.1.The Nifty also moved in sync with the Sensex, as it scaled a high of 2,579.7 during intra-day trades. The bullish undertone was widespread; the number of advancing stocks that comfortably outpaced the declining ones underscored this sentiment. The upward trend was, however, more pronounced in the large-cap space. Stocks of ITC, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, L&T, BHEL, Cipla and SBI surged on the back of sustained buying interest. Most of the metal stocks performed well. Tata Steel rose by 1.7 per cent after the country's second biggest steel maker said that it is in talks to invest in and buy coking coal from two-three Australian mines. SAIL, Essar Steel, Hindalco, Uttam Galva, Ispat and Gujarat NRE Coke also recorded smart gains. Mirroring the gains in these stocks, the BSE metal Index outperformed the other sectoral indices, which advanced by 3.2 per cent. Banking sector stocks appeared to be the hot picks on Monday's trade. Counters of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, SBI, Andhra Bank, Kotak Bank and Union Bank witnessed widespread market action. Hectic activity across oil and energy counters also fuelled the market sentiment. BPCL, HPCL, Chennai Petroleum, IOC, Kochi Refinery and Hindustan Oil Exploration netted offhandsome gains. Auto and auto ancillary stocks also attracted buying interest. Amtek Auto, Maruti, Escorts, MICO and Amtek India recorded smart gains. The IT counter proved to be a dampener, as most of the stocks ended in the red. Infosys, TCS, Satyam, Hexaware, HCL Technologies and Flextronics remained subdued. Stock-specific action Dr Reddy's added Rs 8.9 or 1.1 per cent to its stock after the domestic drug major won an FDA approval to sell the generic version of an anti-ulcer drug in the US. Construction and engineering major L&T rose 1.5 per cent on news reports that the company has signed a contract with Dubai Aluminium to jointly develop alumina ore plant, bauxite mine and a smelter in India. Buoyed by news reports of a Rs 9.5-crore order for the expansion of a pipeline owned by HPCL, the stock of MSK Projects advanced by 6.5 per cent. Opto Circuits, a maker of health-care equipment, was up by 4.4 per cent. Earlier, the company said that it plans to raise about $70 million from a bond or share sale to finance acquisition or invest in joint ventures. Other notable gainers on the Nifty were Balrampur Chini, Bharat Forge, Cosmo Films, Era Constructions, GE Shipping, Greenply Industries, Indian Rayon, Nicholas Piramal, Thermax and Titan. Amara Raja Batteries, Bombay Dyeing, Centurian Bank, Essel Propack, Gokaldas Exports, Madhucon Projects, Shree Cement and Visaka Industries were among the losers.
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