The Hindu Business Line : Sensex, Nifty end firm on short-covering

The Nifty touched a new high on Thursday, closing the day at 4147.70, led by gains in Bharti Airtel, SAIL and Wipro. The Sensex too extended its gains closing 1.2 per cent higher.

The markets traded in a range bound manner for most of the trading session but finished off on a high note, as traders rushed to cover short positions during the tail end of the trading session; January 2007 derivatives contracts expired on Thursday.

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Bharti was a notable performer on Thursday recording a 52-week high at Rs 735 before closing at about Rs 719.

The activity was intense in the large-cap and mid-cap space, while small-cap stocks saw relatively modest gains. More than half the stocks traded on the BSE advanced.

Buzzing stocks

With companies continuing to announce their results for the December quarter, several stocks recorded smart gains. Arvind Mills jumped 10 per cent accompanied by robust volumes after it announced that its profits for the December quarter had quadrupled. However, adjusting for the one-time gain of Rs 100 crore, profits declined.

Moser Baer gained nearly 8 per cent after it announced that its third-quarter profits tripled.

Cummins India and Hanung Toys were other stocks that reacted positively to earnings announcements.

Stocks such as Alok Industries, Asian Hotels, Hindustan Oil Exploration, Cummins India and Patni Computer registered robust volume activity.

Sector Themes

Metal stocks registered strong gains on expectations of a price hike by metal majors. Global prices are showing signs of firming up. The BSE Metal Index rose 4.30 per cent on Thursday. The stocks of Jindal SAW, Jindal Steel, SAIL and Tata Steel were major gainers. Hindalco and National Aluminium also appreciated on expectations of a good earnings card on the back of firm price trends.

Hindalco announced after market hours that profits had risen by more than 90 per cent.

Iron ore miner Sesa Goa continues to gain, with global players such as Arcelor Mittal and BHP Billiton in a race to purchase Japan-based Mitsui's 51 per cent stake in the company.

Select capital goods stocks also witnessed heightened interest on expectations of good results. The stocks of Praj Industries, Kirloskar Brothers, Jyoti Structures, BHEL, Bharat Earth Movers and AIA Engineering were prominent gainers.

Stock-specific Action

The stock of Essar Oil shot up 10 per cent to close at Rs 63.40. Its largest stakeholder and promoter, Essar Energy Holdings, is looking at de-listing the company from the stock exchanges.

A similar move is being considered by Essar Steel Holdings, largest shareholder and promoter of Essar Steel, to de-list shares of the latter from the exchanges. Essar Steel rose 4.3 per cent to close at Rs 50.15.

The stock of Zandu Pharma gained 5 per cent after it announced its plans to offer its shareholders a bonus of one share for every three shares they hold in the company.

Allsec Technologies spurted by about 3.5 per cent. The Carlyle group is investing $25 million in the company, increasing its stake to 27.6 per cent.

The Zee group's Wire and Wireless announced that a board meeting would be held on January 29 to discuss a proposal to raise money by way of a rights offering. The stock ended 3.3 per cent lower at Rs 117.