The Hindu Business Line : Benchmarks end flat on volatile day

Lack of direction saw the markets oscillating between positive and negative grounds before settling down at Friday's level. The Sensex closed at 8,202.6 - up 0.9 points while the S&P CNX Nifty ended flat at 2,485.2. The invasion of bears across sectors was reflected in the negative market breath. At the BSE, losers outnumbered gainers by a ratio of 2.8:1.

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Markets opened on a positive note with the Sensex reaching an intra-day high of 8,254.8. Negative sentiments soon set in and dragged the index to a low of 8,131.77. The markets however managed to recover towards the final hour of trade and closed flat. Global weakness coupled with continued selling by FIIs may have contributed to the negative sentiments. FIIs resorted to a net selling of Rs 400 crore on October 13.

Bajaj Auto and Cipla were notable gainers in the Sensex basket. Baja Auto made a smart rally and added Rs 98 to close at Rs 1,789. The company's net income rose 61 per cent to Rs 289 crore for the quarter-ended September aided by increase in sales of its Discover and Avenger models. Cipla's gain was backed by its plan to come up with a drug for bird flu by the end of the year. The stock gained 5 per cent to Rs 386.2.

Maruti Udyog and BHEL also closed in the green while Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bharti Tele-Ventures and Hindalco closed in negative territory.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap space saw more pronounced selling compared to the heavyweight index. Taj GVK Hotels, Sintex, SRF, Shree Cements and Essar Oil were some of the key losers in the segment. Sesa Goa, United Breweries and SpiceJet however managed to buck the trend and made smart gains.

Construction sector witnessed renewed interest in select stocks after sharp declines last week. Nagarjuna Constructions surged 6.7 per cent to Rs 222.5. Gammon India was up 5.7 per cent to Rs 365 while Era Constructions made a smart come back and closed at Rs 130 - up 9 per cent. The stock had lost significantly over the past couple of weeks.

Realty sector on the other hand witnessed selling pressure. Morarjee Realties and Mahindra Gesco ended in the red. Ansal Properties weathered the bear's challenge and ended on the positive territory.

Steel stocks lost sheen on the back of a fall in global metal prices. Tata Metaliks, Tata Sponge, Jindal Saw and Maharashtra Seamless were some of the prominent losers. Tata Steel, Kalyani Steel and SAIL managed to close with marginal gains.

FMCG stocks were in the limelight on Monday. Dabur was up 7 per cent to Rs 176. The company's board will meet on October 24 to consider issue of bonus shares. Heritage Foods, Rei Agro and Liberty Shoes rallied smartly. Emami and Gujarat Ambuja Exports however stayed out of rally.

Banking stocks slipped further on selling pressure. A 31-per cent increase in the bottom line of HDFC Bank failed to prop up the segment and profit booking continued. IndusInd Bank, UTI Bank, Allahabad Bank and Bank of India were key losers. State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank ended the day with gains of about 1 per cent each.

Stock-specific events

Coromandel Fertilizers' board will meet on October 18 to consider a stock split and announce its quarterly results. The stock rose 2.5 per cent to Rs 253.2.

Fourth quarter profits of Dwarikesh Sugar Industries surged almost ten times compared to the same period in the previous year. It attributed the rise in profits to higher prices and lower interest costs. The stock was up 2.8 per cent to Rs 207.

VSNL, ABB, Tata Tea and GAIL were prominent losers among the Nifty constituents while Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Cummins, Nirma and Asian Paints made gains backed by steady buying interest.

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