Auto, tech stocks add sheen

STOCK REPORT

The bull run continued for the third straight session on Thursday, with key indices ending nearly 1 per cent up at new closing high. The Sensex closed at 7876.15 and the Nifty at 2405.75.

Automobile, IT, metal and engineering firms were in the limelight. The CNX Midcap index rose nearly 1 per cent at 3694.35.

The Sensex on Thursday ended at 7876.15, up 70.72 points, or 0.9 per cent, over Wednesday. The National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 2405.75, up 21.10 points, or 0.9 per cent.

The Sensex and the Nifty sustained their gains over the levels of 7850 and 2400, respectively, throughout the session. The Sensex also crossed the crucial level of 7900 when it hit the day's high of 7902.19, but retreated soon.

The Nifty hit a high of 2412.35 and a low of 2382.90 during the session. For the Sensex, the low was 7818.90.

Zee Telefilms and Gujarat Ambuja Cements were the top two gainers in the Nifty, up 4 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively. Zee Telefilms has been rising on hopes that it would win telecast rights from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

A dealer said that compared with previous sessions, "Today was a relatively calm day, devoid of any sharp movements in the indices."

In BSE's 'A' group, around 59 per cent of the shares rose. Around 56 per cent and 55 per cent of the shares were the winners in 'B1' and 'B2' groups.

The CNX IT index rose 1.3 per cent to 3219.30. Sentiment for information technology shares got a further boost today after Tata Consultancy, Infosys Technologies and Patni Computer Systems figured among the five vendors that were awarded a 1.8-billion-euro order by ABN AMRO.

"This shows that outsourcing is here to stay and also shows the competitiveness of the Indian IT companies," said an analyst.

"The market continues to be strong. New players are entering the market all the time, thereby lending strength to it," said Praveen Malik, senior vice-president, Rolta Shares and Stocks.

He said along with foreign funds, buying by domestic institutions and mutual funds ensured that higher levels are sustained.

Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Udyog reported rise in sales by 28.5 per cent , 34 per cent and 9.5 per cent, respectively, in August from the same month a year ago. Consequently, these stocks were among the top gainers in the Nifty, with around a 3 per cent rise each.

Steel Authority of India today hiked product prices by an average of Rs 500 per tonne. The stock rose 1.6 per cent to Rs 63.15. National Aluminium Co gained 2.2 per cent at Rs 173.

HT Media shares, which listed on the bourses today, closed at Rs 545, against the issue price of Rs 530. They rose to a high of Rs 750 after listing at Rs 698 on NSE.