The Hindu Business Line : Benchmarks end with modest gains

Markets opened on a firm note on Thursday and ended with modest gains. Intraday gains that the Sensex posted in the morning were trimmed by bouts of volatility which crept in by mid-afternoon. The global markets were a mixed bag, with the US markets closing at a record high. The democrats' comeback into the US House, followed by the resignation of the US Defence Secretary seemed to have fuelled hopes for a change in the Iraq policy and thus less government spending.

Back home, selective buying in midcap, banks and consumer durables helped the market sentiment. Mirroring the investor interest in midcaps and banks, the respective BSE indices notched up gains of about 1 per cent and 1.8 per cent. The overall market sentiment was bullish. The same reflected in the advance-decline ratio of about 1.5:1. According to provisional data, the foreign investors were net buyers on Thursday to the tune of Rs 333 crore.

Relisting

GTL Infrastructure relisted on the bourses on Thursday as a result of the restructuring of its parent company GTL. The stock opened at Rs 38 and went on to touch a high of Rs 59.90. On the contrary, GTL witnessed selling and ended the day with a loss of 4.5 per cent.

Index stocks

Satyam Computers led the gainers pack for the day. The stock appreciated by about three per cent after it bagged a seven-year contract worth Rs 243.19 crore with Australian airline Qantas for providing IT application services. ICICI Bank clocked gains of two per cent following a block deal on the counter. Reliance Communication, ONGC and Cipla were among other stocks that gained during the day.

Maruti Udyog lost about three per cent after Nissan Motor Co said it had ended talks with Suzuki Motor Corp on a manufacturing project in India. Suzuki was to build a Nissan model in India for sale in the local market. Hindalco Industries also ended the day in red, losing close to three per cent after RBI barred foreign investors from buying the company shares without its permission. The decision was taken after the foreign investment in the counter touched the 22 per cent limit. Among other counters that moved southwards were Grasim, HDFC and Bajaj Auto.

Buzzing stocks

Tata Teleservices gained about 11 per cent for the day on the back of high volumes following unconfirmed reports that the company is back in negotiations with South Korea Telecom for selling stake. Other counters to gain significantly were Sterlite Opticals, Welspun Gujarat, Mphasis BFL and HCL Infosystems.

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NIIT Tech closed with a handsome gain of 9.7 per cent. The counter witnessed three times its two-week average volume. Among the midcaps, Tata Elxsi, Financial Technologies, Mro-Tek, Cranes Soft, Patni Computers, Megasoft and 3i Infotech ended with sharp gains.

Stock-specific action

IDFC gained 4.7 per cent after it formed tripartite alliance with Bank of India and Union Bank of India for financing of infrastructure projects.

Mahindra & Mahindra surged over six per cent after the company signed an agreement with Renault to establish a greenfield plant.

Other gainers and losers

Cummins, Maharashtra Seamless, Thermax, Allahabad Bank, Balaji Telefilms and Geometric Software were among scrips that notched gains. Some of the counters that ended in the red were JK Industries, Aban Offshore, Kotak Bank and BPCL.