The Hindu Business Line : Metal stocks firm in choppy session

The unpredictability of the markets came once again to the fore on Tuesday. After having posted gains of close to 100 points on the Sensex in early trades, the wheels came off towards the end of the market session, which saw the benchmark index end lower by nine points compared with Monday's close. The Nifty settled lower by 1.40 points. Though action was stock-specific, scrips belonging to the metal sector did display their mettle.

The markets opened on a firm note and remained strong till well past afternoon. Profit booking set in the late afternoon session, which saw markets shed all their gains and then slip into the red; at one point, the Sensex had shed about 160 points from its day's high. Recovery at the tail end of the trading session saw some recouping of losses. The advances-to-declines ratio was neutral, with one advancing stock for every declining one. Turnover, though, was a higher by 15 per cent at about Rs 3,100 crore on the BSE.

Index highlights

The leading gainer on the Sensex was HDFC, which rose by Rs 27.75 to finish at Rs 1,317.65. HDFC Bank was another prominent gainer within the index. ONGC posted gains on the back of a rise in crude prices. The stock put on Rs 11.7 to close a fraction above Rs 1,200 mark. Other gainers included L&T, Reliance Energy and ITC. The losers were led by Infosys, Hindustan Lever, BHEL and Tata Motors.

On the Nifty, Sun Pharma posted sharp gains to close within striking distance of the Rs 900 mark. Stocks such as HPCL and BPCL, which saw a sharp appreciation in recent times, saw profit booking and cooled off a bit. Ditto was the case with GlaxoSmithKline Pharma and ABB.

Sector focus

The shine was back on the metals sector after prices firmed up in London. Within the Sensex, the key beneficiaries included Tata Steel and Hindalco. Other gainers were Sterlite, SAIL, JSW Steel and Jindal SAW. Hindustan Zinc, however, ended the day lower.

Buzzing stocks

Educomp Solutions was clearly the stand-out stock for the day, as it sizzled with gains of 20 per cent. The stock ended the day at Rs 568.65. The company, which is into education software, listed on the bourses in January through an IPO priced at Rs 125. Returns since then have been staggering.

Everest Kanto, another recent listing, also posted sharp gains, as it rose 15 per cent to finish at Rs 440.

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Ballarpur Industries, which declared its fourth-quarter and year-end results minutes before end of trade, saw the street giving the thumbs up to its earnings performance. The stock gained about 3 per cent to close at Rs 113.85.

Balaji Telefilms, which saw a large bulk deal during Monday's trade, posted gains of close to 3 per cent to settle at Rs 133.3.

Other gainers and losers

Other gainers included Ecoplast, Balmer Lawrie, Uniply Industries, Lumax, Pitti Laminations, Sinte Industries, Morarjee Textiles and Syncom Formulations. Losers included Balkrishna Industries, Wyeth, Shree Renuka Sugar, Madras Cements, Aban Loyd Chiles and Asian Hotels.