Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005 |
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Markets
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Commentary Columns - Sensor Bank stocks surge in volatile trade Alagappan Arunachalam
Chennai , Oct. 25 FOLLOWING a sharp drop on Monday, the markets opened on a flat note. Expectations of a higher growth rate appeared to have caused a spurt in interest among the bulls. The positive sentiment, however, did not prevail for too long, as the bellwether indices recorded sharp declines in the closing hours. Trading in the last 15 minutes helped the bellwether indices close with gains. The advances-declines ratio, at about 1:1, suggested that the bears were very much active, although not on the frontline stocks. The S&P CNX Nifty opened on a flat note. The index went on to record the day's high of 2444.6 points before closing at 2418.2. The Sensex, reflecting a similar pattern, closed with a 71-point gain at 7991.7. Buying activity was evident in the capital goods sector. The sector-oriented index on the BSE recorded a surge followed by a slump in the opening hour. However, it later marched northwards to close with a 2.17-per cent gain. The advances-declines ratio among the index stocks was tilted in favour of the gainers at 11:10. Major gainers in this sector were ABG Heavy Industries, Praj Industries, Manugraph, McNally Bharat Engineering, Nelco and Oil Country Tubular. However, heavyweights such as Alstom Projects, Greaves Cotton, Lakshmi Machine Works, Greaves Cotton and Crompton Greaves shed value. Market sentiments for healthcare stocks continued to be negative. The Health Care index on the BSE opened on a weak note. The index lost 1 per cent in the opening hour to record the day's low of 2679.4 points. Catching on to the general trend that prevailed in the markets, it managed to stage a partial recovery in the later hours. It closed lower by about 0.2 per cent at 2705.8 points. During the past week, the index has lost 7.4 per cent and 9.4 per cent since a month ago. Buoyed a favourable monetary stance, interest among banking sector stocks surged. Major gainers were Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, SBI, Andhra Bank and IOB. After recording smart gains in the last two trading sessions, the auto sector switched gears. The sector-oriented indices recorded a drop of 0.3 per cent. Auto components manufacturers dominated the losers' list in the sector. ZF Steering, Omax Auto, Maruti Udyog, Cummins India and Gabriel shed more than 2 per cent. CCL Products announced an 80-per cent earnings growth for the second quarter. Despite the respectable scorecard, the stock did not attract much interest from investors. At its close, it recorded a decline of 4.1 per cent.
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