Cyclicals on centre stage

STOCKS REPORT

Cement, steel and auto stocks rose in an extremely subdued market on Wednesday. Brokers said investor confidence was on the mend despite the uncertainty over the divestment of some key public sector companies.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) 30-share Sensex settled with a marginal gain of 17.26 points at 5,949.78 after moving in an intraday range of 53.68 points. During the day, it touched a low of 5,905.23 and a high of 5,958.91.

Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange's (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty, a broader index, rose 10.75 points to end at 1,891.50.

Cash market volumes fell further today. The turnover on the BSE slipped to Rs 2443.15 crore from Rs 3,022.74 crore on Monday and volumes dropped to 12.18 crore (13.62 crore). On the NSE, the turnover dipped to Rs 5,003.99 crore (Rs 6,248.94 crore), while volume slid to 22.26 crore (25.61 crore).

In the derivatives segment of the NSE, 243,181 (329,387) contracts worth Rs 11,721.55 crore (Rs 15,352.86 crore) were traded.

Foreign funds continue to remain the buyers. They pumped in Rs 578.4 crore on Tuesday in equities.

U P Bhat, a fund manager with Canbank Mutual Fund said, "I think at that the market is consolidating at the current levels on genuine foreign-fund buying. I expect the Sensex to cross the 6,000 psychological mark again soon."

Auto and cement stocks, which have led the latest rally, continued to gain.

Frontline cement stocks rose on expectations of a price rise next week in the western markets. Industry leader ACC rose 3.85 per cent to Rs 275.20. Gujarat Ambuja Cements, the fourth cement producer, surged 2.40 per cent to Rs 309.55. Grasim added 4.27 per cent to Rs 1,154.75.

Elesewhere auto stocks made broad gains, with Maruti Udyog up by almost three percent to Rs 474.10. Tata Motors rose 1.33 per cent to Rs 542.65.