The Hindu Business Line : Capital goods, bank stocks drive sentiment

After a volatile beginning, the Sensex managed to close in the green gaining 23 points for the day. It was a tug of war between the bulls and bears, with the Sensex oscillating in the positive and negative terrain. Nifty, however, closed on a flat note.

Weak global markets also have rubbed off on the Sensex, which swung close to 87 points between the day's high and low. Market sentiment, nevertheless, remained neutral, with one stock advancing for every declining one.

Selective buying in capital goods and banks helped sustain the market, with the respective indices gaining about 1.14 per cent and 0.8 per cent during the trading session.

Buzzing stocks

For the second consecutive session, Adani Enterprises continued on its winning streak. The stock has attracted a lot of buying interest lately amid reports that Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Retail has bid for buying out Adani Retail. On Wednesday, Reliance Long Term Equity Fund and Reliance Growth Fund picked up close to 1.86 per cent stake in the company. The stock closed at its upper circuit limit for the day. The other stocks that gained were iGate Global, IndusInd Bank, Jaiprakash Associates and Ramco Systems.

ABB, BHEL, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Areva and Pantaloon Retail were among scrips that touched a new high during the trading session.

Sector focus

In the Sensex pack, Hindalco was the biggest gainer. The stock appreciated 3.2 per cent on the back of good volumes following reports that China's aluminium imports were rising.

Among other counters that closed in the green were NTPC, Reliance, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank. However, Hero Honda, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communication were among the losers.

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Stocks in the capital goods space seemed to have rekindled the investors' interest. ABB, Areva and BEL were among the highest beneficiaries with a gain of over 5 per cent. Other scrips that gained were Alstom Projects, Siemens, Greaves Cotton and Punj Lloyd.

Kirloskar Brothers and Gammon India, on the contrary, closed in the negative.

Selective buying in the bank stocks also helped sustain the market. Centurion Bank of Punjab and Kotak Mahindra Bank gained over 4 per cent each during the session. The former gained after the bank approved investing in a stock broking venture. Ambit RSM Group and theTV-18 Group will be the other stakeholders in this new enterprise. Other counters that gained were HDFC Bank and Karnataka Bank. However, ICICI Bank ended the day with marginal gains.

Mixed bag

Auto stocks were a mixed bag. Hindustan Motors, Sundram Fasteners and Ashok Leyland were among the gainers, while Balkrishna Industries, Punjab Tractors and Amtek Auto were among stocks that moved southwards.

Stock-specific action

Granules India gained 4.3 per cent signed an agreement with a Dutch firm for joint development and marketing of formulations in Europe. Shreyas Shipping gained 20 per cent on news that it has scheduled a board meet to consider raising Rs 150 crore for acquisitions.

Other gainers and losers

IPCA Labs, Crew Bos, Liberty Shoes, Global Vectra and Jai Corporation were among the gainers for the day. Among the counters that closed in the red were Sterling Biotech, Asian Paints, Spice and Lok Housing and Construction.