Capital goods stocks on fire

STOCK REPORT

The shares of capital goods companies are on a roll on the bourses, with many frontline stocks closing at their life-time highs.

Larsen and Toubro (Rs 1,874), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Rs 2,889.90), ABB (Rs 4,601), Crompton Greaves (Rs 253) and Thermax (Rs 494) hit all-time highs on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), gaining more than two per cent each.

The BSE Capital goods index touched 10,914.16 during intra-day trades and closed at an all-time high of 10,896.14. The capital goods index gained 2.81 per cent (297.76 points) compared with a rise of 0.77 per cent (110.32 points) on the benchmark index Sensex.

The strong financial results for the quarter ended March, 2007 and a healthy order book position led the rally in capital goods stocks. A few companies declared bonus issues as well.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) was the largest gainer, appreciatIng 4.86 per cent to Rs 2,856.20, against its previous day's close of Rs 2,723.75 on BSE. The company had reported 32.5 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,150.37 crore in Q4 March 2007 and had declared a 1:1 bonus issue.

Larsen & Toubro rose 3.81 per cent to Rs 1851.15 on the announcement of 50 per cent rise in net profit in Q4 March 2007. The net profit of the company increased to Rs 700.77 crore in the Q4 March 2007 as against Rs 466.85 crore in Q4 March 2006. The company secured orders worth Rs 412 crore, last week.

Texmaco gained 7 per cent to close at Rs 1,097.25 (Rs 1,024.80), Reliance Industrial Infrastructure rose 5 per cent to Rs 498.90 (Rs 475.15), Elecon Engineering 5.31 per cent to Rs 420.30 (Rs 399.10), Crompton Greaves 4.54 per cent to Rs 251.20 (Rs 240.30) and ABB 2.70 per cent to Rs 4,574.89 (Rs 4,454.60).