The Hindu Business Line : Mid-cap IT in the limelight

Pointers to trading
Igate Global, Himmatsingka Siede, Carol Infoservices and Federal Bank were some stocks that witnessed a sharp surge in trading volumes when compared to the weekly average.
Trends in advance tax instalments paid by large companies in December have been quite healthy.
Companies such as SBI, Reliance Industries, HPCL & BPCL have reported strong growth in their advance tax payments for the year.

Chennai , Dec. 20

The stock markets ignored the bounce-back across Asian markets (triggered by the Thai Government decision to rescind earlier controls on equity investments) to witness yet another harrowing day marked by high volatility. Market breadth was negative and the Sensex and the Nifty ended the day with net declines of 0.31 and 0.43 per cent, respectively, after registering sharp intra-day swings of 336 points and 99 points, respectively during the session. Mid-cap stocks trailed bellwethers. Among sectors, metal and commodity stocks managed net gains while frontline technology and auto stocks retreated sharply.

Index movers

Tata Motors, Hero Honda and Hindustan Lever were instrumental in dragging the Sensex lower, while heavyweights such as ONGC, ITC and HDFC were a positive influence.

Sector themes

Opportunities for profit-taking seemed to determine sector trends, with recent gainers such as automobiles and capital goods bearing the brunt of declines. The healthcare, metal and oil/gas sub-indices managed to stay in positive territory.

Buzzing stocks

Realty stocks continued to hog the limelight on trading turnover, though they witnessed divergent price trends. BL Kaashyap made it to the gainers list while Parsvanath Developers and Peninsula Land gave way to profit-taking. Though frontline IT stocks such as Wipro and HCL Technologies ended the day with net declines, second-line IT stocks such as I-Gate Global Solutions, Tech Mahindra, Polaris Software and Tulip IT Services managed significant gains.

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Both Bharati Shipyard and ABG Shipyard registered gains of over 7 per cent, while it was also a good day for healthcare/pharmaceutical stocks with Dishman Pharma and Dabur Pharma witnessed buying. M&M registered net gains amidst declines across the auto space.

ITC gained in defiance of trends in other FMCG stocks. The stock appeared to be responding to the company's announcement on Tuesday that it would foray into new food categories and pump new investments into its paper business. Stocks that suffered significant reversals during the day were Suzlon Energy, Sun TV, Bajaj Auto and Peninsula Land.

New listings

The stock of Sobha Developers made an impressive debut, opening at a 73 per cent premium to its IPO offer price of Rs 640, at Rs 1,111, but finally closing with net gains of 44.6 per cent as it gave way to profit-booking. Ruchira Papers, in contrast, listed marginally below offer price and lost value to close at Rs 20 for the day.

Stock specific action

HCL Technologies, which announced a new order win from Skandia in the final hour of trading, closed flat.

KEC International, which announced new orders worth Rs 151 crore, registered net gains of 1 per cent.

Parsvanath Developers, which announced a successful Rs 449-crore bid for a hotel plot in New Delhi, closed 3 per cent lower.