Market up on metal gains

STOCK REPORT

Shares ended up marginally on Wednesday but off highs after a volatile session, backed by gains in metal companies.

The upside was limited due to profit sales, dealers said.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 11933.21, up 28.61 points or 0.2 per cent from Tuesday, after moving between 11904.92 and 11983.48 intra-day.

The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty ended at 3477.25, up 3.50 points or 0.1 per cent, after moving between 3465.80 and 3490.70 intra-day. Combined turnover on the exchanges was roughly Rs 9,300 crore, compared with Rs 8,500 crore on Tuesday.

"Volumes are a major concern as retail investors have not shown confidence in the market. Any upside is not likely to sustain if volumes do not improve," Raj Bhandari, dealer at Networth Stock Broking, said.

CNX Midcap ended up 0.4 per cent and S&P CNX 500 ended up 0.1 per cent. On the BSE, bulls edged past bears, 1.4:1.

Continued buying by foreign funds in the last few sessions has lent support to indices, dealers said.

"Foreign funds have stepped up activity and their inflows have improved substantially in the last five days," a dealer said.

Foreign funds have bought Rs 700 crore of Indian shares in the last five sessions.

Among BSE indices, BSE Metal Index, up 2 per cent, was the top gainer, tracking strong overnight gains on London Metal Exchange on Tuesday.

National Aluminium Co was up 2.3 per cent at Rs 427 on hopes domestic aluminium prices would rise after they rose $50 on the LME on Tuesday.

Hindalco Industries was up 2 per cent at Rs 182.

Jet Airways, up 6 per cent at Rs 591, was the top Nifty gainer ahead of its dividend record date on Thursday. Jet will pay a dividend of Rs 6 per share.

Hindustan Petroleum, up 5 per cent at Rs 306, was the other major gainer. Zee Telefilms, down 2 per cent at Rs 291, was the worst hit on Nifty due to profit sales.

Oil and Natural Gas, which went ex-dividend on Wednesday, was down 2 per cent at Rs 1,207.