The Hindu Business Line : Markets end flat on cautious day

Mixed cues from world markets failed to lift the spirits of the Indian stock markets, which succumbed to bouts of volatility, before ending on a flat note. Both the Sensitive Index and Nifty, despite a firm opening, fell prey to profit booking and ended with 0.09 per cent and 0.12 per cent gains, respectively.

Cautiousness and trepidation, ahead of the much-awaited Infosys Technologies results, seemed to rule investor sentiment. However, market breadth remained positive with about three stocks advancing for two declining ones.

Buzzing stocks

Cambridge Solutions after touching a high of Rs 145, ended with a gain of 6.4 per cent for the day. The stock surged on news that Mr Ramesh Vangal, who has 18 per cent stake in the firm, was planning to team up with private equity firm Carlyle to buy the founders' 42 per cent stake for about $170 million (approximately Rs 730 crore).

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Balaji Telefilms gained 11 per cent on reports that NDTV was in talks with television content providers such as Balaji Telefilms for content. Among other stocks that enjoyed buying interest were Amar Remedies, ITI, Everest Kanto and Moser Baer, which gained more than 10 per cent each during the day's session.

Bhushan Steel, CESC, Aban Offshore, Provogue India and Prime Focus were some of the stocks that hit an all-time high during the day.

Sector focus

The large-cap stocks were a mixed bag. HDFC and HDFC Bank appreciated by about 3.4 per cent and 2 per cent respectively. Tata Motors notched up gains of about 2.4 per cent following four block deals on BSE. Hindustan Lever, Ranbaxy and Grasim Industries were among the other stocks that gained.

Cigarette major ITC rose by about 3 per cent after Macquarie Securities rated the stock a new "outperform", saying concerns over a tax levy were overdone. On the other hand, stocks such as Dr. Reddy's, Bajaj Auto and NTPC closed in the negative terrain.

IT stocks lost favour as investors sought to exit them ahead of Infosys results, which is scheduled on April 13. Expectations of a conservative guidance from the bellwether company could be attributed to the fall in the prices of IT stocks. While Infosys closed with a loss of about 2.2 per cent, Wipro, TCS, Mphasis and Satyam Computer followed suit and closed in the red.

Select mid-cap stocks such as India Infoline, 3i Infotech, Sasken Communication and Honeywell Automation attracted buying interest and closed on a positive note. SRF gained about 10 per cent on reports that the firm had raised close to Rs 500 crore from the sale of carbon credits in FY 2007.

Stock-specific action

Bharati Shipyard gained 5 per cent on news report that the private ship builder had acquired UK-based Swan Hunter Shipyard.

Sesa Goa attracted renewed buying interest amid rumours that Arcelor Mittal had bid the highest for Mitsui's 51 per cent stake in the company. The stock after touching a high of Rs 1,806 closed with a 2.4 per cent gain.

Subhash Projects clocked in gains of about 5 per cent after it secured orders worth Rs 309 crore for execution of various power projects in Karnataka.