The Hindu Business Line : Large-cap stocks witness selling pressure

Sensex opened 24.6 points above its previous close while the Nifty opened marginally higher. The cheerful mood was, however, short-lived as markets soon slipped into negative territory. They came in for a highly volatile session that manifested guarded optimism of market participants.

IT stocks failed to pull off a smart show as majority of them ended on a disappointing note. Satyam, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Scandent Solutions, Ramco Systems, Aptech, Helios & Matheson made it to the losers' bag, among others.

Few of them that managed to attract the bulls included the likes of Aztec Software, Sonata Software, MphasiS BFL, Hexaware and Mastek.

Metals and banking sectors attracted high level of market interest. Buoyed by price hike announced by Hindalco and Nalco, the scrips posted gains of 1.9 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively.

Mahindra Ugine, Hindustan Zinc and Tata Sponge Iron also managed to add sheen to the market. Sesa Goa, Jindal Steel, SAIL and Tata Steel ended on a weak note.

In the banking space, ICICI Bank was a notable gainer, whose stock moved up by 2.1 per cent. Karnataka Bank, Andhra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Punjab National Bank, UTI Bank, Vijaya Bank, Allahabad Bank and Kotak Bank recorded respectable gains.

Bank of India, SBI and Union Bank, however, failed to buck the trend.

The selling pressure was more pronounced across the counters of large-cap stocks. Stocks of Bharti Tele-Ventures, Dr Reddy's, Grasim, NTPC, HLL, HDFC, L&T, ACC, Cipla and Tata Power sported a bearish outlook.

In contrast, there was widespread buying support across the mid-cap and small-cap counters.

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance was a significant gainer; the stock advanced by 10 per cent. Others that closely followed were Unitech, McLeod Russel, Navbharat Ferro Alloys, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Scooters India and Zuari Industries, among others.

There was a mixed bag of response among auto stocks. Maruti added 1.4 per cent after its December sales jumped by 5.1 per cent. Scooters India, Sundaram Clayton, Hindustan Motors, Rane Engine and Punjab Motors also posted handsome gains.

Hero Honda, M&M, TVS Motors, CEAT, Tata Motors and Eicher Motors took a beating.

Capital goods and FMCG sector stocks failed to make an impressive start in the year. Crompton Greaves, KSB Pumps, HMT, Alstom Projects, Praj Industries, KEC International, ABB and Gammon India lost steam.

Among stocks from the FMCG sector, Champagne India failed to add spirits to the markets, as the stock shed 3.2 per cent. Nirma, Nestle, CCL Products, Tata Tea, HLL and ITC remained subdued.

Following the grant of permission to its unit to submit bids for the expansion of country's FM radio network, the stock of Mid-Day Multimedia rose 11.7 per cent.

Dhampur Sugar added 4.4 per cent after the nation's third-biggest sugar maker by sales recorded profit in the fourth quarter ended September, from a loss in the corresponding period last year.

Orchid Chemicals climbed 2.6 per cent, to Rs 247.4 after the drugmaker received the US FDA's approval to sell a version of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's antibiotic Cefprozil in the US.

SB&T International rose 2.8 per cent, to Rs 79.05. The jewellery exporter earlier said it acquired a closely held local rival Mimansa Jewellers to expand its business.