The Hindu Business Line : Bankex, small-cap indices post major gains

Markets opened on a strong note on Friday and remained firm throughout the day. The Sensex closed with a trivial gain of 40 points to close at 11,572 while the Nifty gained 16 points. Buying was witnessed in the consumer durables and the metals sector. Selective buying in the banks space also helped sustain the market. BSE Bankex and small caps indices posted gains of 1.7 per cent and 1.1 per cent week-on-week.

The advance/decline ratio was pegged at 1.35:1, with 1,432 shares advancing as against a decline of 1,056 shares; 75 shares remained unchanged.

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According to provisional data, the FIIs remained net sellers to the tune of Rs 59.6 crore.

Buzzing stocks

State Bank of India rose 3.4 per cent on news that the cabinet has approved amendments in the SBI Act, allowing RBI's stake to be cut from 55 per cent to 51 per cent. Hindustan Motors jumped on heavy volumes for the second day in a row to clock an intraday gain of six per cent.

Zee Telefilms gained 4.4 per cent on the back of renewed buying and high volumes.

Other prominent gainers were Carborundum Universal, Apollo Tyres, Century Enka and Hinduja TMT. Deccan Chronicle Holding, Kernex Microsystem and Sun Pharma moved southwards.

India Infoline witnessed sustained buying for the second day and closed at a gain of 18 per cent.

Prism Cements, Aegis Logistics, Gitanjali Gems and Ceat were some stocks to touch their upper circuit filter. Vertex Spinning for the second consecutive day witnessed selling and closed at its lower circuit limit.

Sector focus

The BSE metal index continued their winning streak and posted a gain of 1.6 per cent for the day. The prominent movers in the sector were Hindalco, Jindal Saw, SAIL, Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel.

The other sectoral indices closed flat with little gains for the day.

Stock-specific action

Voltas rose five per cent on news that it has partnered with the Netherlands-based Beselling group to deliver turnkey solutions for storage of horticulture produce.

Abbott India rose 6.4 per cent to Rs 583 after its board approved the buyback of shares at the maximum price Rs 650 per share.

Bayer Crop Sciences surged 6.6 per cent on news that its board has approved the proposal for the planned cessation of manufacture of products at the Thane unit.

HT Media gained 5.7 per cent after it announced its tie-up with The Wall Street Journal to publish the latter's pages in its soon-to-be-launched business newspaper.

Infotech Enterprises gained 3.7 per cent after the company announced that its joint venture company, Infotech Aerospace Services has opened a second facility in Puerto Rico.

Gainers and losers

Minal Jewels, Zenith Birla, Arvind Remedies, Sterlite Opticals and Finolex Cables were some of the counters that recorded gains.

Malu Paper, Indraprastha Medical Corp, Allsec Technologies and Asian Hotels posted loss for the day.