The Hindu Business Line : Large-caps, banking stocks steal the show

Markets rallied worldwide after the US consumer confidence index rose to its highest since July 2005. The domestic stock markets were, however, outperformers with the Sensex recording yet another all-time high. Large-caps were the life of the party, while banking stocks stole the show. The Sensex opened the week higher than its previous close and looked set to tease the 13,000-mark, when it touched a high of 12,953. It, however, settled at 12928, with a gain of 1.5 per cent. ICICI Bank, Reliance and HDFC Bank led the rally.

The euphoric close notwithstanding, the breadth of the market remained negative, with only four stocks advancing for every 10 traded on the BSE. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks got the cold shoulder, with small-caps undergoing a bout of selling pressure.

Results reaction

Investors gave a warm reception to results announcements. The Deccan Chronicle stock gained 10 per cent to close at Rs 586 after it announced that its profits grew six-fold on the back of higher ad rates.

CMC rose 5 per cent after it declared that its second-quarter profit rose 9.4 per cent. The stock of its parent Tata Consultancy Services rose 2 per cent on expectations that the company will post impressive results similar to that of rival Infosys. TCS, which declared its results after market hours, said that its profits rose close to 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

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The reactions to the results of Indiabulls Financial Services and Praj Industries were relatively more sedate.

The stock of Praj, which said that its profits increased four-fold on the back of capacity additions, closed the day 1.2 per cent higher at Rs 201.2. Indiabulls declared a 60 per cent rise in profits. The stock ended flat.

Sector themes

Banking stocks hogged the limelight with the BSE Bankex appreciating 2.45 per cent. HDFC Bank and South Indian Bank soared by 6 per cent each.

ING Vysya Bank and ICICI Bank were the other prominent gainers, while Karnataka Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank rose to their 52-week high. UTI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Allahabad Bank were the other gainers.

Select FMCG stocks attracted investor fancy. Nestle rose 4 per cent, while ITC and Dabur gained 2.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.

The BSE Auto index alone shed value. Auto ancillary stocks shed value. TVS Motors, MICO, Exide Industries and Apollo Tyres were losers.

Corporate action

The stock of GE Shipping gained Rs 4.4 to close at Rs 305. The demerger of its offshore unit is effective as of October 16. The offshore arm is likely to be listed within the next few weeks.

The stock of Hindustan Zinc rose by Rs 29.55 to close at Rs 747.1 after it raised prices for the third time this month.

The stock of Provogue rose by 5 per cent for the third straight trading session. Liberty International, a UK based shopping-centre developer, is to invest £25 million for a 25 per cent stake in Prozone Enterprises, its mall management arm. The stock closed at Rs 386.

Buzzing stocks

Crisil, Godrej Industries, Pratibha Industries, Balaji Telefilms, Mirza International, SB&T International and Nandan Exim were some of the stocks that sizzled on Monday.

Stocks that were up on large volumes include ING Vysya Bank, Balaji Telefilms, Malu Paper Mills, Dishman Pharma and Vivimed Labs.

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