The Hindu Business Line : Cement, pharma stocks score gains

PointersAdvances-declines ratio at 7:2
Cement, capital goods, tea and cigarettes registered smart gains
Sentiment weakened in the chlor-alkali industry

The bulls continued to wield the upper hand pushing the bellwether indices higher. The Nifty closed with a 28-point gain at 3511. IT stocks along with Jet Airways, HPCL, IPCL and Tata Power tempered the gains on the Nifty. The bullish undertone that prevailed in the markets could be gauged from the advances-declines ratio, which was by far tilted in favour of the gainers.

Sector watch

The cement sector hogged the limelight with many frontline stocks recording sharp gains on the back of buying interest.

An 11-per cent gain was registered on Madras Cements' counter. India Cements, Birla Corporation and ACC closed with more than 5 per cent gains. Buying interest was also evident in the second benchers as well.

Prominent gainers included Mangalam Cement, Mysore Cements, Prism Cement, Deccan Cements and Kakatiya Cements.

Food and cigarettes also attracted buying interest.

Across the board gains were registered in the tea space. Assam Company, Bombay Burmah, Dhunseri Tea, Goodricke, Harrisons Malayalam, Warren Tea, Williamson Tea and McLeod Russel registered sharp gains.

Parry Agro, however, bucked the trend to close lower by 2 per cent. ITC continued its northward march by registering a one-per cent gain.

Other smaller players in the cigarettes space recorded sharp gains.

Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries gained 8 per cent while GTC industries closed with a 5 per cent gain.

Pharma sector was also in the limelight. Mid-cap stocks in the sector closed with smart gains. Sentiment, however, was weak among MNC stocks in the pharma space.

Stocks such as Glenmark Pharma, Matrix Labs, Nicholas Piramal, Orchid, Ranbaxy, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Wockhardt attracted buying interest.

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Capital goods was among the most active sectors. Stocks such as Praj Industries, Grindwell Norton, Orient Abrasives, Esab India, Usha Martin, ABG Heavy Industries, Ador welding and ABC Bearings registered sharp gains on the back of buying activity.

Market interest in the caustic soda industry softened on the back of sharp gains in the recent sessions. Andhra Sugars bucked the trend on an otherwise clean scorecard. Soda ash manufacturers such as Tata Chemicals and GHCL moved on similar lines.

Event-Specific Action

Buying interest appeared to have set in on Cadila Healthcare's counter after announcements that the company plans to sell 29 products from its branded generic business in France to Laboratoires de l'Aerocid for 7 million euros (about Rs 40 crore).

The company also announced a tie up with Evolupharm of France. Accompanied by a 5-fold jump in volumes the stock closed with a 4-per cent gain.

Debut Trading

Malu Paper Mills that came out with its initial public offer in the beginning of March made a smart debut. About 75-lakh shares changed hands on the BSE. The stock closed with a 61-per cent gain.

Adhunik Metaliks also made its debut. The stock opened a weak note, however, buoyed by a reversal in sentiment in the later part of the day it closed with a 12 per cent gain on its offer price.