The Hindu Business Line : Markets shed volatility tag; Media, IT cos major gainers

On Wednesday, the markets turned secular with all indices on the BSE closing in the green. They also shed the volatility tag that had been a marked feature in the recent sessions. The breadth of the markets was positive on the back of buying activity in small-cap stocks and a positive sentiment in frontline and mid-cap stocks. The picture on the volumes front continued to bleak with turnover continuing to remain below the 10,000-crore mark. FIIs continued to remain net sellers while the broking community changed their stance to net buyers.

Buzzing stocks

Market participants appeared to be on a value-buying mode in the small-cap space. Fuelled by a 10:1 advances-declines ratio the BSE small-cap index ramped up a sharp gain of 4.1 per cent. Stocks of various hues and colours registered smart gains. Rei Agro, Infomedia, Andhra Cement, Vishal Exports, Pantaloon Industries, Polyplex Corporation, Blow Plast, Visaka Industries and Satnam Overseas featured among the top gainers in this space.

Sector-focus

Media and IT companies were among the major gainers. Mid-day Multi Media, Deccan Chronicle, TV Today and NDTV registered a spurt in values. Sterlite Optical, Opto Circuits and Himachal Futuristic represented the telecom space. The entertainment space also registered buying activity. Crest Animation, Adlabs Films and Zee Telefilms were up more than 2 per cent. Registering a 2.8 per cent gain the BSE IT index returned to the levels in early June. While frontline stocks were content with gains of about 2 per cent mid-cap and small-cap stocks ramped up sharp gains. Teledata Informatics, MRO-TEK, HCL Technologies, KPIT Cummins, Geometric Software and Micro Technologies were among the major gainers.

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The oil and gas sector was in the limelight. While oil-marketing companies closed flat stand-alone refining companies registered gains. Chennai Petroleum was among the top gainers with a 6.1 per cent gain. Other gainers included stocks such as Indraprastha Gas, Hindustan Oil Exploration, Shivvani Oil, Petronet LNG, Bongaigaon Refinery and MRPL. Lubricant manufacturers — Savita Chemicals and Castrol closed with gains of over 1 per cent.

Despite a weak trend in metal prices on the LME metal stocks attracted buying activity. The stock small-cap and mid-cap stocks were among the top gainers in the metals space. The top slot, however, featured Sesa Goa, which returned to the four-digit mark by registering a 9.1 per cent gain. Stocks such as Lanco Industries, Tinplate, Tata Sponge and Texmaco closed with sharp gains. Hindalco, Sterlite and National Aluminium attracted significant buying interest.

Stock-specific action

Gitanjali Gems, which received the Government's approval to set up a 200-acre trade zone near the southern city of Hyderabad attracted significant buying activity. About 28.5 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE. The stock closed at Rs 159.2 with a 5.3 per cent gain.

Other gainers/losers

Apollo Tyres, Jaiprakash Associates, Biocon, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab Tractors, Bharat Electronics, Lupin and Wockhardt were among the prominent gainers on the NSE. Asian Paints, Raymond, Jindal Saw, Monnet Ispat, Wheels India, TV Eighteen and Kajaria Ceramics featured in the losers list.