The Hindu Business Line : Another volatile day for Sensex

IT was yet another day where the 10,000-mark remained elusive. Markets witnessed volatile trading on Thursday with the Sensex closing at 9843.8 points — a decline of 15.4 points.

The day's trading started on a strong note and soon touched an intra-day high of 9956.1. Profit booking soon took over and selling pressure was seen in banking, telecom and software sectors. The S&P CNX Index fell 4.1 points to 2967.5.

Net buying by FIIs to the tune of Rs 217 crore on January 31 and optimism in overseas markets failed to lift market sentiment.

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Mixed action seen: There was mixed action seen in the basket of BSE 30. Cipla was in the limelight after it posted its biggest gain in more than a decade. The company's board will consider offering bonus shares and raise overseas investment limit. The share surged Rs 48.5 or 11 per cent to Rs 490.3.

ACC gained 2.9 per cent to Rs 591.8. The company's cement sales for January rose 9.3 per cent. Bharti Televentures, Hindalco and BHEL were other gainers in the basket. ONGC, L&T, ICICI Bank and TCS ended lower.

Mid-cap indices in the BSE and NSE managed to hold ground. Gujarat Alkalies jumped 12.1 per cent to Rs 138.8. KEC International, Gateway Distriparks, Madhucon Projects and Bajaj Hindusthan made gains in the range of 6-9 per cent.

Capital goods space witnessed select buying. Emco, Kalpataru Power Transmission and Usha Martin rallied smartly. Gammon India and Alfa Laval, however, ended in the red. Towards the close of market, Bharat Bijlee announced a 44-per cent increase in its third-quarter sales. The net profits, however, declined due to extraordinary items.

Pharma stocks evinced buying interest. Apart from Cipla, Ranbaxy made gains of over 2 per cent. Aurobindo Pharma, Torrent Pharma and Sun Pharma also closed in the green. Dr. Reddy's Lab has entered into an agreement for joint development and commercialisation to the treatment of pulmonary disease. The stock closed flat.

Ashok Leyland appeared to be a winner in the automobile space. The stock jumped 7.5 per cent to Rs 34.5. The company has won an order worth Rs 230 crore to supply spares and other products to the Indian army. Amtek Auto, Cummins India and MICO were other gainers. Tata Motors posted a 20 per cent gain in its January vehicle sales. The stock, however, declined 2.2 per cent to Rs 704.8.

Select cement stocks witnessed fresh buying. Prism Cements and India Cements gained about 8.5 per cent each. Grasim Industries and UltraTech Cements announced a rise of 13 per cent in January; While Grasim added Rs 11.7 to Rs 1,500.1, UltraTech remained flat. Dalmia Cement and Mangalam Cement, however, ended in the negative ground.

Banking stocks bore the brunt of the bear's attacks. Indian Overseas Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bank of Baroda and Kotak Mahindra Bank succumbed to selling pressure. Allahabad Bank, however, made marginal gains.

Metal stocks shone with optimism. Hindustan Zinc and National Aluminium Company made gains of about 7.5 per cent. Hindalco, SAIL and Tata Steel were other gainers in the space.

Stock-specific action

Jubilant Organosys announced the bagging of $40 million (Rs 170 crore) worth of orders in January. The stock rose 1.6 per cent to Rs 1,055.9.

Sterlite Industries jumped Rs 88 or 6.7 per cent to Rs 1,397.7. The company's board will meet on February 10 to consider a bonus issue. It also plans to split its shares.