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Fancied buying in Tata Chem, Knoll Pharma

Anup Menon

TRADING ended on a neutral note with neither the bulls nor bears able to take a firm grip over the bourses on Thursday. The recent fall in Nasdaq caught up with the domestic markets and traders started booking profits in the technology stocks. Ceme nt stocks remained firm during the day.

The BSE Sensitive Index (BSE-Sensex) closed the day at 4,270.45 points, down by around 14.53 points over Wednesday's close. The advance-decline statistics were tilted in favour of the bears. Around 716 stocks declined in value as against 592 stocks which advanced. Around 25 stocks touched new lows as against 23 stocks which hit new highs. Total volume during the day was higher at 15.08 crore as compared to Wednesday.

Trading at the National Stock Exchange was in line with the trend at the BSE. The S&P CNX Nifty closed the day at 1349.35 points, down by around 4.95 points over Wednesday's close. The ratio of advances to declines was tilted in favour of the bears with 487 stocks declining in value as compared to 353 stocks which advanced. Stocks touching news highs outnumbered those that touched new lows with 11 stocks touching new highs as compared to seven stocks which hit new lows. The total volume was higher at 19 .82 crore as compared to the Wednesday.

Major gainers during the day included cement majors such as ACC, Larsen & Toubro, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and Grasim. Gainers from other sectors included stocks such as Tata Chemicals, Knoll Pharma and Mahindra and Mahindra.

The Tata Chemicals stock gained during the day with expectations of improved profitability on account of receipts from the recent sale of its stake in ACC. The stock closed the day at Rs 53.95, up by around 5.78 per cent from its previous close. Traded v olumes went up from around 2.59 lakh shares on Wednesday to around 18.73 lakh shares.

Stocks in the cement sector remained firm during the day's trading with expectations of an increase in cement prices in the near future. Major gainers in the sector were the stocks of Larsen & Toubro and Gujarat Ambuja Cements.

The L&Tstock gained close to 3.24 per cent to close the day at Rs 310.20. Around 64.33 lakh shares changed hands during the day. The Gujarat Ambuja stock closed the day at Rs 166.78, up by around 1.18 per cent from its previous close. Volumes jumped to a round 27.21 lakh shares.

The stock of Mahindra and Mahindra attracted buying interest during the day. It gained close to 3.83 per cent to close the day at Rs 168.25. Around 23.43 lakh shares changed hands during the day. The company has decided to list its infotech subsidiary an d has reserved around 10.6 lakh shares of Mahindra-BT for M&M shareholders.

Pharmaceutical major Knoll Pharma saw some active buying interest on news that US drug giant Eli Lilly was in advanced talks to acquire Knoll's parent from German firm BASF AG. The stock ended the day up by around 6.70 per cent at Rs 354.20. Traded volum es stood at around 91,000 shares.

Major losers during the day included Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computer Services, SSI and NIIT. Losers from other sectors included Mico, MRF, Escorts, TV 18 and BHEL.

Technology major Infosys was one of the major losers in the technology sector. The stock closed the day at Rs 7,531.85, down by around 1.20 per cent from its previous close. Volumes dropped to around 4.06 lakh shares on Thursday (8.23 lakh).