| Moving in an extremely narrow range, the Sensex hit a high of 5222.81 points and a low of 5202.02 points in intra-day trades before closing 18.77 points higher (0.36 per cent) at 5,210.85. |
| Brokers said that action is being seen in mid-cap stocks, which was reflected in the market breadth. Gainers outpaced losers 13:6 on the BSE, but blue chips had a mixed day on the bourses with 21 out of the 30-scrip Sensex closing marginally higher. |
| Market players said that stable crude prices have boosted sentiment. They added that though the undertone is positive, there is a lack of impetus. Said a dealer from a local brokerage," We expect the market to remain range-bound in the near-term." |
| The BSE capital goods index was the biggest gainer on Wednesday, up 2.87 per cent, followed by the BSE Bankex, up 1.17 per cent, and the Consumer durables index was up 0.97 per cent. The BSE Metal index was the biggest loser on the day, down 0.54 per cent. TECk index fell 0.04 per cent. |
| Auto and cement counters witnessed good buying on strong August sales, said analysts. Gujarat Ambuja Cements was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up 2.61 per cent to Rs 332.70, followed by BHEL, up 2.45 per cent to Rs 565.40, Tata Power, up 1.91 per cent to Rs 264.55, SBI, up 1.76 per cent to Rs 450.65 and Maruti Udyog, up 1.72 per cent to Rs 388.35. |
| Grasim was up 1.49 per cent to Rs 1134.40, ACC gained 0.72 per cent to Rs 271.20 and Tata Motors was up 0.56 per cent to Rs 392.70. |
| Zee Telefilms was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, down 2.55 per cent to Rs 148.75, followed by Bharti Tele-Ventures, down 1.93 per cent to Rs 137.15, Reliance Energy, down 1.01 per cent to Rs 646.50, Tata Steel fell 0.91 per cent to Rs 249.60 and Dr Reddy's Labs was down 0.62 per cent to Rs 700.30. |
| Heavyweights, HLL was up 0.40 per cent to Rs 112.45, Reliance Industries gained 0.02 per cent to Rs 475.65 and ITC fell 0.04 per cent to Rs 1046.50. |
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