The Hindu Business Line : Profit-booking at higher levels flattens Sensex

Tracking strong global cues, Sensex managed to open with a bull gap of close to 126 points. The broader index Nifty followed suit and opened on a firm note for the day. However, profit booking and selling pressure at higher levels trimmed most of the intra day gains of the market, forcing it to close with paltry gains. While Sensex closed with a gain of 14 points, Nifty ended the day on a flat note with about a 3 points gain. The market breadth, however, was slightly skewed in the favour of the bulls with the advance-decline ratio pegged at 1.3:1.

Buzzing stocks

Kirloskar Brothers spurted 3.6 per cent after it received an order worth Rs 344 crore from the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Other stocks that gained during the day were CMC, Orchid Chemicals, TVS Motors and Bank of Rajasthan. Suzlon Energy, on the other hand, lost about 2.5 per cent on reports that France's Areva raised its offer for REpower to 140 euros a share.

Among stocks that hit their all-time high during the day's session were Info Edge, Mind Tree, Fact Enterprises and Bhushan Steel strips, while stock such as Emkay Share, Andhra Sugar and Allahabad Bank hit their all-time low.

Sector focus

Large cap space was a mixed bag with 13 advances as against 17 declines. Among stocks that moved northwards were Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hindalco, NTPC, Tata Steel and Maruti Udyog. Tata Motors, HDFC, Reliance Communication and ACC, however, closed in the red.

Click here for table

IT stocks brought some respite to the market, with the BSE IT index closing with a gain of about 1.9 per cent. Leading the gainer's pack was Infosys Technologies, which chipped in gains of about 2.93 per cent. Among other stocks that gained in this space were Mphasis BFL, TCS, Tech Mahindra and i-Flex Solutions. Satyam Computer saw some action on reports that it was looking to acquire a telecom or technology consulting firm in the United States or Europe for up to $50 million (approx Rs 225 crore). However, the stock ended on a flat note.

FMCG stocks too sported a decent comeback, with select stocks such as ITC, Proctor Gamble and United Spirits appreciating by more than 3 per cent each. ITC surged on reports that its foods unit was likely to bid for Britain's Patak's, valued at about £200 million. Among other stocks that witnessed some buying interest were Marico, Godrej Consumer and Dabur India.

Metal stock witnessed selective buying. Buying in Hindustan Zinc, National Aluminium and SAIL helped prop the BSE metal index. However, stocks in the banking space proved to be laggards. Stock such as Canara Bank, State bank of India and Bank of India shed more than 2 per cent each.

Stock-specific action

Praj Industries gained 1.17 per cent after it secured Rs 65 crore order to supply equipment for wheat and beet based bio-ethanol plant in Belgium.

Larsen & Toubro after surging to a high of Rs 1,532 closed with a gain of 0.56 per cent. The stock witnessed buying interest on news that a consortium including the firm had secured an Rs 1400 crore order for the expansion of the Vizag Steel plant.

More Stories on : Commentary | Sensor | Stock Markets

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
SEBI suspends 121 brokers

Volatile movement

Get over the idea of leverage as `bad'

Participatory Notes — When will we cleanse the system?

SEBI not a trigger-happy regulator: Damodaran

Profit-booking at higher levels flattens Sensex

Orbit Corp IPO opens on March 20