The Hindu Business Line : Metals, software rally to keep markets in green

However, the volatility continued in the indices, with the Sensex remaining firm till noon, only to shed its gains in the afternoon. The market breadth remained positive, with advances outnumbering the declines.

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Out of 2,511 stocks traded, 1,383 stocks appreciated in value compared to 1,067 logging declines.

The relatively weak sentiment was also evident from the provisional FII data available for both the BSE and the NSE, which showed that FIIs were net sellers to the extent of Rs 117 crore during the day, compared to Rs 304 crore and Rs 1,783 crore on May 26 and May 25 respectively.

Sector action

Among the BSE Sectoral indices, the key outperformers during the day were metals, capital goods and software. The metals pack was the clear leader during the day's trading.

The sharp recovery in the global prices of non-ferrous metals has added to their sheen. Among steel stocks, the stocks that ended in the positive territory were Tata Steel and JSW Steel.

In the capital goods space, the gainers were Alstom Projects and L&T. In the software category, Satyam emerged as the key gainer.

On the other end, the sectors that underperformed were FMCG, healthcare, and oil and gas. Among FMCG stocks, the prominent losers were HLL, ITC, Nirma, and Britannia Industries.

The stocks that bucked the trend were Colgate Palmolive and Godrej Consumer. The healthcare care space was splashed in red, with the key losers being Aventis Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Glenmark Pharma, Matrix Labs and Glaxo Pharma.

Stock specific action

The Wockhardt stock appreciated by Rs 4.45 to close at Rs 396.35. The uptrend has to be seen in the light of reports that the company is scouting for acquisitions and is in talks with research-based biotechnology firms in China and bio-pharma companies in the US.

With metals prices, especially copper and zinc, staging a smart recovery at the London Metals Exchange, the significant gainers in metals were Hindalco (two per cent), Sterlite Industries (8.5 per cent), and Hindustan Zinc (five per cent).

Despite a good fourth quarter performance in 2005-06, the Mahindra and Mahindra stock ended marginally lower at Rs 591.50. The company has clocked revenue growth of 20 per cent at Rs 2,288 crore and profit before tax and exceptional items growth of 21 per cent at Rs 241 crore.

Riding on heightened trading volumes, the stocks that ended in the positive trading zone were Gabriel, JK Synthetics, Prakash Industries, Gati and Nitco Tiles.