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G. Madhan

FOR the third trading day in a row, the benchmark BSE Sensex closed higher, at 5221.9 points.

The 30-stock index was up 35.82 points (0.69 per cent). The index opened firmly at 5198.74 points, about 13 points higher than the previous day's closing.

It reached an intra-day high of 5246.74 points and low of 5178.22 points witnessing an intra-day swing about 69 points.

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On the BSE, barring BSE TECk, most of the indices ended the day on a positive note. In the NSE, the S&P CNX Nifty, rose 12 points (0.72 per cent) to 1,670.50 points.

Of the 2,091 stocks that were traded on the BSE, 1,355 appreciated, 649 fell and the rest remained unchanged. Among the Sensex constituents, 14 stocks gained while the rest declined.

Index heavyweights remained a mixed bag on Wednesday. Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies ended the day on a negative note. On the other hand, Hindustan Lever, ITC and ICICI Bank logged gains.

Several private sector banking stocks witnessed strong buying activity. The news that HSBC has entered into an agreement with CDC Financial Services (Mauritius) and South Asia Regional Fund, to acquire 20.08 per cent equity stake in UTI Bank appears to have induced the buying interest in private sector banking stocks.

In light of this development, UTI Bank went up by a whopping 19.9 per cent to Rs 114.1. ICICI Bank also rose by 8.8 per cent to Rs 287.50. HDFC Bank rose 3.3 per cent to Rs 328.70.

IndusInd Bank also gained 8.5 per cent to Rs 40.30 on trading volumes of 23.9 lakh shares. The company's board has approved in principle to acquire Ashok Leyland Finance. The stock of Ashok Leyland Finance also rose 7.8 per cent to Rs 85.95.

Other banking stocks that gained during the day include IDBI Bank (8.6 per cent), Federal Bank (4.7 per cent) and City Union Bank (4.7 per cent).

The stock of IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects rose 5 per cent to Rs 125.05 after the announcement that the company has bagged an order worth Rs 536.8 crore to execute a water supply project for the Andhra Pradesh Government. The stock has been witnessing steady up trend since the beginning of last fortnight, on the back of its strong order book position.

The stock price of Bharat Forge, the steel forging company, rose 3.3 per cent to Rs 663.45 after it announced that it is planning to raise resources to the tune of Rs 350 crore, to finance the company's capacity expansion plans.

The stock price of Orchid Chemical & Pharmaceuticals went up by 3.5 per cent to Rs 194.15, after it announced that its joint venture partner, Bexel Pharmaceuticals, US, which has been working on a novel anti-diabetic molecule has received an approval from the independent ethics committee (IEC) Europe, for conducting phase-1 human clinical trials. The IEC is a designated body in Europe for reviewing protocols and results and approving molecules for going into further clinical tests.

The stock of LG Balakrishnan & Bros, which manufactures automotive and industrial components, rose 5 per cent to Rs 371.75. The company has fixed December 17 as record date, for the purpose of bonus issue and stock split.

Jain Irrigation Systems rose 9.9 per cent to Rs 95.95 coupled with huge surge in trading volumes. The promoters of the company have planned to divest approximately 6.26 per cent of their stake in the open market and reinvest the sale proceeds into proposed preferential allotment.

Other stocks that registered huge trading volumes include SAIL, Reliance Capital, IFCI, Essar Shipping, Reliance, Satyam Computer, Hindustan Motors, Welspun Gujarat, Tata Steel, Alka Spinners, Arvind Mills, Zee Telefilms, Maruti Udyog, Bank of Punjab and Tata Motors.

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No change in pricing for UTI Bank share — HSBC open offer from today

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