The Hindu Business Line : Metals, capital goods gain, tech stocks stay weak

Trading highlights
Selling aggravated at the fag-end following the news of Ms Sonia Gandhi's resignation.
Local steel stocks turn firm on reports of Chinese firm Baoshan Steel raising prices
Buying interest seen in select mid-cap and small-cap stocks

Markets opened on a firm note buoyed by encouraging global cues but failed to sustain the momentum. Surrendering their initial gains, they ended flat amid alternate bouts of buying and selling. Volatility ruled the charts as the markets faced heavy pressure at higher levels. Selling was aggravated at the fag-end following the news of the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi's resignation from the Lok Sabha.

Sector focus

Metals stocks continued to add lustre to the markets. News reports about Baoshan Steel, the Chinese steelmaker raising prices for the second time in a month might have caused a spike in prices of steel stocks. SAIL was the largest gainer whose stock surged by 7.3 per cent. There was hectic activity across the counter as over 470 lakh shares changed hands. Tata Steel, Uttam Galva, Mahindra Ugine, Tinplate, Hindalco and Maharashtra Seamless also casted a shine on the market.

Stocks from the capital sector attracted widespread market interest. Areva, TRF, Bharat Bijlee, ABG Heavy, HEG and Thermax netted off handsome gains.

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There was selective buying interest in the mid-cap and small-cap space. Navabharat Ferro Alloys, Gujarat NRE Coke, India Infoline, Berger Paints, Renuka Sugars, Exide, TVS Motors, Vaibhav Gems and Kernex Microsystems recorded a smart rise in prices.

Technology stocks continued to be a damper on the market sentiment. Satyam, TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Sonata Software ended in the negative territory among others.

Buzzing counters

Newly listed Pratibha Industries continued its upward march as investors accumulated this play on the infrastructure sector. The stock was up by 6.2 per cent on the back of volumes of close to 117 lakh shares. BL Kashyap & Sons also perked up on the back of huge volumes.

Event-specific action: Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore rose by 2.4 per cent to Rs 1,157.7. The Indian oil drilling company said its board would meet March 29 to consider the sale of its oil rigAban VII to the wholly owned subsidiary of Aban Singapore Pte.

Federal Bank climbed by Rs 11.3 to Rs 182.6 after the Reserve Bank of India said overseas investors can own as much as 49 per cent in Federal Bank.

State Bank of India surged by 2.8 per cent, to Rs 974.7. The Union Cabinet approved legislative changes that would enable the nation's largest lender, to sell shares in its seven associate banks and to split the shares of its subsidiaries. Three of them, which are already traded on stock exchanges, also reacted positively to the announcement. State Bank of Mysore surged by its 20 per cent while State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur gained five per cent at their close.

Gainers and losers

Stocks that notched up significant gains in the broad market included Engineers India, Rajesh Exports, Valecha Engineering, Shoppers' Stop, PBA Infrastructure, MICO, IVRCL, Matrix Lab, Suzlon Energy and Taj GVK Hotels among others. Prominent in the losers' list were Greenply Industries, Essel Propack, Macmillan, Elgi Equipments, HMT, Bata, Voltas, Amara Raja Batteries, Simplex Infrastructures and Nelco.