The Hindu Business Line : Winning streak continues 7th week in a row

The BSE Sensex closed at 9284.5 - up 114 points or 1.2 per cent. Markets started on a cautious note on Friday morning carrying forward the previous day's pessimism. SEBI's announcement of scam in a recent public offer allotment may have added to the cautious mood.

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The Sensex touched an intra-day low of 9137. The second half of the session saw a turnaround as the bellwether indices moved northward aided by buying across various sectors. Sugar, bank, telecom and power stocks were major movers. The S&P CNX Nifty settled at 2810.2 after adding 31.6 points.

Foreign institutional investors continued to remain optimistic with net buying of Rs 433 crore on December 14.

In the basket of BSE 30 (Sensex), ICICI Bank was a major gainer. The share rose 4.6 per cent to Rs 587.8. Hindalco gained Rs 4.8 to Rs 141 after the company raised prices of aluminium by Rs 6000.

HDFC, Reliance Energy and State Bank of India also propelled the 30-stock sensitive index. Larsen & Toubro and Cipla however ended on a weak note.

Telecom stocks were active on Friday with VSNL, MTNL and Bharti Tele Ventures notching gains. VSNL added Rs 20 to Rs 424.5. The company has been chosen as the network administrator by a consortium of global telecom carriers for trans-continent cable systems.

In the capital goods sector TIL was in the limelight with a 10 per cent gain to Rs 198.2. Praj Industries, Lakshmi Machine Works and Havell India followed suit.

Bharat Earth Movers, Kalpataru Power and FAG Bearing ended with declines.

Sugar stocks ruled firm. Sakthi Sugars jumped 8.3 per cent to Rs 110.7. Oudh Sugar Mills, Bajaj Hindustan and Dhampur Sugar Mills also closed in the green. Dhampur Sugar Mills plans to bid for stakes in five State-owned sugar mills in Jamaica.

Selective buying was witnessed in the metal sector. Sterlite Industries, Madras Aluminium and SAIL evinced buying interest, while Sesa Goa, Hindustan Zinc and Lloyd Steel succumbed to selling pressure.

Pharma stocks were a mixed bag. In the small and mid cap space, Panancea Biotec, Solvay Pharma and Matrix Labs made handsome gains. Dishman Pharmaceuticals, Aventis Pharma and Morepen Laboratories fell victim to the bear raid.

Media space lacked glamour as Zee Telefilms, TV Today and Balaji Telefilms ruled weak. NDTV and HT Media weathered the challenges from the bear and moved to positive ground.

Banking stocks were clear winners for the day with the BSE and NSE banking indices gaining over 2.5 per cent. Reports of the Finance Ministry's proposal to raise the limit of foreign institutional investment may have contributed to the buoyant mood. Allahabad Bank and Punjab National Bank made gains of 4.5 per cent while Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 3.5 per cent. HDFC Bank and Vijaya Bank did not join the bandwagon and closed on a flat note.

Consumer durable stocks saw selective action. Titan, Bajaj Electricals and Samtel moved northward. Gems and jewellery stocks failed to glitter as Su-raj Diamonds, Vaibhav Gems and Suashish Diamonds stayed out of rally.

Stock specific action: Reliance Industries won a contract to supply jet fuel to 12 airports in the country after the Government ended the monopoly of State refiners. The stock added Rs 3.6 to Rs 848.9.

Lincoln Pharmaceuticals made an impressive gain of 9.7 per cent to Rs 50.8. The company received an order worth Rs 2.2 crore from the UK to supply drugs.

Flextronics Software Systems, Union Bank of India, Raymond and Everest Kanto Cylinder were prominent gainers among the Nifty constituents. IFCI, UTI Bank, Cummins India and TVS Electronics were notable losers.

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