The Hindu Business Line : Strong show by engg, FMCG, metals boosts sentiments

The bulls were clearly on a rampage on Tuesday as reflected in the sharp rise in benchmark indices, especially during the second-half of trading. The market appeared to cheer the China-India meet for co-operation. The two countries today signed agreements to boost trade and investment and promote co-operation in areas such as civilian nuclear energy.

Markets may have also taken cues from their Asian counter parts, which ended the day on a positive note. Strong buying across sectors such as engineering, FMCG and metals perked up sentiments. The enthusiasm was reflected in the positive market breadth with gainers outnumbering the losers in the ratio of 3:1.

Buzzing stocks

Real estate players Unitech and Prajay Engineers Syndicate hit the upper circuit filter. While the former has a pan-India presence and a huge land bank, the latter is seeking to diversify further in the southern region. BF Utilities, Provogue and Patel Engineers were among other stocks that closed at the upper limit. Stocks such as Development Credit Bank, IVRCL Infrastructure and Reliance Communications surged on the back of huge volumes.

Click here for table

The BSE Smallcap index rose as much as 1.9 per cent with a number of stocks in the space hogging the limelight. Malu Paper Mills, Voltamp Transformers and Repro India surged over 10 per cent.

Sector focus

The BSE Metal index was the biggest gainer among sector indices. JSW Steel clocked gains of over five per cent. It was followed by Sesa Goa, Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco and Jindal Stainless.

Auto stocks were on top gear today. Mahindra & Mahindra rose Rs 20 or 2.5 per cent to Rs 839. The company had earlier signed an agreement with Global Vehicles USA to sell M&M's vehicles, parts and accessories in the US. Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Punjab Tractors and TVS Motors also closed in the green.

Auto ancillaries also played the momentum with Asahi India, Bharat Forge and Amtek Auto registering smart gains.

Engineering space also witnessed renewed buying. HEG was among the top gainer with gains of over 10 per cent. Alstom Projects, Crompton Greaves, Lakshmi Machine Works and Ingersoll Rand also made their northward journey.

Stock-specific action

Bharat Electronics added Rs 49.5 to Rs 1,159.6. The company has secured an order from Zee Group to supply two-lakh set-top boxes from December.

Mefcom Agro Industries has bagged orders from real estate developers to construct residential and commercial areas in Maharashtra. Real estate is a recent foray by the food processing company. The stock rose 4.9 per cent to Rs 41.7.

National Aluminium Company declined marginally by 0.6 per cent after reports of the company reducing prices by Rs 4,000 a tonne.

New listing

Dotcom player Info Edge made a strong debut on the bourses on Tuesday. The stock opened with a gain of 41 per cent over its offer price of Rs 320 and went on to make an intra-day high of Rs 624. It settled at Rs 593 towards close. Info Edge is a provider of online recruitment and matrimonial classifieds with brands such as `Naukri.com' and `Jeevansathi.com'. The initial public offer of the company was subscribed nearly 55 times.

Jaiprakash Associates, Allcargo Global Logistics, Vaibhav Gems and Max India were prominent gainers at the NSE. Pratibha Industries, Emami, Deccan Aviation and Kajaria Ceramics were conspicuous losers.