The Hindu Business Line : Last-hour profit taking spoils party

MARKETS saw a free-fall towards the close of trade on Friday as major indices lost early gains made during the day. The BSE Sensex gained 16.8 points and closed at 8961.6. Markets opened the day on a firm note and effortlessly hit an all-time high of 9058.

Buying interest prevailed until penultimate hour, after which heavy profit booking pulled the indices to Tuesday's closing levels. The S&P CNX Nifty closed at 2698- down one point.

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Reports of expansion in the US Economy without concerns of inflation provided global optimism. Overseas investors bought Rs262 crore shares more than they sold on November 30.

In the basket of BSE-30 (Sensex), Infosys led the bull rally. The stock added Rs 76.2 to Rs 2,843. Cipla, Gujarat Ambuja Cements, ITC and Grasim Industries also joined the northbound journey. The subdued monthly sales figures of Bajaj Auto may have led to the stock's decline during the day.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Bharat Heavy Electricals and Satyam Computer Services were other heavyweight stocks that ended in the red.

Select mid-cap stocks remained active throughout the day. The BSE Midcap index was up 0.6 per cent. Shares of Power Trading Corporation gained an impressive 12.5 per cent to Rs 62. Areva, Berger Paints and Finolex Industries also made smart rallies while Alfa Laval, Mastek, Karnataka Bank and Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren succumbed to selling pressure.

In the consumer durables section, Bajaj Electricals put up a stellar performance with an eight per cent gain to Rs 382.50. Vaibhav Gems saw some glitter with a 1.8 per cent gain. The company plans to come up with a preferential allotment representing 27.3 per cent of its equity share capital to Cortland Investment of Mauritius.

Classic Diamonds and BPL also closed with gains. Titan, Whirlpool and Samtel Color were prominent losers in the segment.

The engineering sector continued to be dominated by Siemens. The stock made a new high of Rs 3,525 before settling at Rs 3,476 - up Rs 112. Siemens impressive performance for the year ended September has lent optimism to the stock.

Auto stocks took the reverse gear. Mahindra & Mahindra, Punjab Tractors and Eicher Motors were key losers.

Rane Engine Valves was a clear winner in the auto ancillary space. The stock surged by 10 per cent to Rs.445.4. The company had earlier announced its plan to double exports to Volkswagen, Germany and increase its capacity. Exide Industries and JK Industries among others closed in the green.

Gains were witnessed in the metal space. Tata Steel, after recent declines, made a 1.8 per cent gain to Rs.357. JSW Steel, Sesa Goa and Indian Seamless also joined the bull run while Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Stainless and Mahindra Ugine closed weak.

Pharma sector was a mixed bag. Cipla added 2 per cent after reports that the company was planning to sell a generic version of Tamiflu in Asia and Europe. Nicholas Piramal, Pfizer and Wockhardt were other gainers. Ranbaxy declined 2 per cent. The company has offered to supply a generic version of Tamiflu drug if called upon by the US Government. Aurobindo Pharma, Matrix Laboratories and Ind Swift Laboratories were stocks that stayed out of rally.

Media stocks made themselves audible on Friday. NDTV ended the week in style with a 6.6 per cent gain to Rs 195. Deccan Chronicle and HT Media also followed suite. Zee Telefilms failed to impress despite bagging the telecast rights for the India-Sri Lanka test matches. The stock initially rose to Rs 174.4 before closing at Rs 162.6 - down 1.4 per cent.

VSNL, Jet Airways and Dabur were prominent gainers among the Nifty constituents while NELCO, Punjab National Bank and Chennai Petroleum were conspicuous losers.

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