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Vidya Bala

WEDNESDAY saw the Sensitivity Index sail past the 8,600-mark. Strong buying interest towards the close of trade aided the Sensex to close at a record of 8,606 — up 80.5 points or 0.9 per cent.

Even as frontline IT stocks ruled weak, active participation of the bulls in sectors such as auto, banking, oil and gas and capital goods propelled the indices northwards.

The S&P CNX Nifty closed at 2,601, adding 26 points or 1 per cent.

Click here for table

The mid-cap space saw limited buying interest, reflected in the marginal gains of 0.7 per cent in the BSE Midcap and the CNX Midcap.

The trading session could be termed volatile with the Sensex opening on a firm note and later hitting a low of 8,475, before moving northward.

The volatility can be seen in the light of the September F&O expiry falling on Thursday.

The FIIs continued to be net buyers with net buying figures of Rs 199 crore on September 26.

The FII factor along with smart gains in other Asian markets boosted local market sentiment.

The basket of BSE 30 (Sensex) saw a mixed trend. While HDFC, NTPC, ONGC and Larsen & Toubro made smart contribution to the indices, Tata Motors and Wipro pulled the indices down marginally.

Banking stocks were the star performers for the day. Buoyed by optimism over the growing demand for loans from companies and individuals, the BSE Bankex and Bank Nifty gained over 1.2 per cent. Among the heavyweights, HDFC Bank surged by 2.3 per cent to Rs 695.7.

Close in the rally was ICICI Bank at Rs 599, up by 2 per cent. Andhra Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Punjab National Bank were the other gainers in the sector. UTI Bank and Bank of India however ended in the red.

Backed by fresh buying interest, power stocks appeared to be fully charged. KEC International was up 4 per cent to Rs 247.9. The company has bagged an order worth Rs 102 crore for building transmission lines in Algeria.

Tata Power gained 2.8 per cent to Rs 464. Kalpataru Power also made marginal gains.

Among the capital goods stocks, Bharat Earth Movers rallied by 9.2 per cent to Rs 933, while Crompton Greaves rose by 8 per cent.

The oil and gas space saw new-found interest as Bharat Petroleum, Chennai Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum made gains of more than 3 per cent. Bongaigaon Refinery and Cochin Refinery rose by about 2 per cent.

The lacklustre performance in the IT sector was marginally offset after Tata Consultancy Services announced that it had bagged orders worth Rs 1,000 core to manage IT infrastructure for Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra for the next five years.

The company's stock added Rs 7.7 to Rs 1,469.4.

In the mid-cap space, Patni Computers and Tata Elxsi sailed in the positive wave while Scandent Solutions and D-Link India bore the brunt of attack from the bear.

In the auto sector, Maruti Udyog rose 0.9 per cent to Rs.564. The company is all set to launch a new version of its Baleno model.

Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto were notable losers. Post-trading session, Bajaj Auto announced that it expects to sell more than two lakh vehicles in September.

Stock-specific action

Dr Reddy's Laboratories added Rs 3.3 to Rs 811.7. It has set up a new company for developing drugs in which ICICI Venture Funds Management and a unit of Citigroup plan are to invest.

Eveready Industries plans to raise Rs 72 crore by selling 2.2-lakh square feet of land in Chennai. The stock stayed out of rally.

Larsen & Toubro, Dabur India, Cummins and Syndicate Bank were prominent gainers among the Nifty constituents. Zee Telefilms, VSNL, ITC and Tata Tea were the prominent losers.

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