The Hindu Business Line : Sensex climbs on earnings' trigger

WORRIES regarding the monsoons notwithstanding, the markets closed on a positive note for the second straight day. Post-Budget, the two main triggers that investors have been looking for are the earning numbers and monsoons.

The earnings season started with a big bang with Infosys beating earnings estimates providing the markets a much-needed relief. The earning numbers of manufacturing companies also have been impressive so far. This has to some extent negated the pessimism related to the lower than normal rainfall. The advance/decline ratio on the NSE indicated a very bullish undertone with just 153 shares declining against 603 shares that gained. The BSE Sensex gained 63 points to close at 4951.17 points. The Nifty closed 19.4 points higher at 1558.80 points. As has been the trend over the past few days, mid-caps outperformed the Sensex and the Nifty. The CNX Midcap 200 outperformed the broader indices too.

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The primary stock drivers for the day were earnings numbers. Quite a few companies gained momentum either after the declaration of good numbers or on positive expectations. A few stocks that received a boost from solid Q1 numbers are Shanti Gears, FAG Bearings, Micro Inks and Hindustan Zinc.

Man Industries soared 13.6 per cent after it received approval from Shell for supply of critical service pipelines to its worldwide projects. This opens up huge opportunities in the international markets for the company. The stock closed at Rs 83.

Nagarjuna Construction received new orders worth Rs 240 crore. The current order book stood at Rs 2,000 crore. The stock dipped Rs 4.5 to Rs 155 after gaining sharply when the news was announced the day before.

After remaining subdued for a long time, the stock of Rain Calcining saw hectic action on Friday. The stock soared 12.6 per cent after the company announced plans to expand capacity in India and in Kuwait. After these expansions, Rain Calcining will be one of the top five global calcining companies. The stock closed at Rs 15.73.

Cadila Healthcare stock rose 5.6 per cent to Rs 475 on news that the company has received the US FDA (US food and Drug Administration) approval for its manufacturing facilities. This will enhance its scope of exports to the US markets. The company plans to launch nine drugs in the US by 2005.

Goodlass Nerolac gained 5.6 per cent after it declared a bonus of two shares for every three shares held and a dividend of Rs 12.5 per share. The stock traded at Rs 506, up 5.57 per cent.

Last couple of days witnessed a sharp surge in public sector bank stocks such as Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank, SBI, Union Bank, Vijaya Bank, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank. The BSE Bankex gained 2.3 per cent during the day.

Capital Goods stocks such as Crompton Greaves, Greaves Cotton, Greaves Morganite, Grindwell Norton, Kirloskar Brothers and Bharat Earth Movers were major gainers.

The top gainers among the petroleum-refining stocks were MRPL, Chennai Petroleum and Bongaigaon Refinery. MRPL gained as much as 20 per cent.

Stocks of jewellery manufacturers Vaibhav Gems and SB&T International gained 11 per cent. Rising jewellery exports over the past few quarters could have perked interest in the stocks.

Top gainers, which jumped in excess of 15 per cent, are Foursoft, Morarjee Spinning, BPL and Kopran. Other top gainers include Nilkamal Plastics, SKF Bearings, Kirloskar Brothers, IFCI, Bharat Forge, Nalco and Tata Steel.

Top losers are Malwa Cotton, Advani Oerlikon, Mid-day Multimedia, Ruchi Infrastructure, Hikal, Maharashtra Seamless and Godfrey Philips.

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