Markets at a glance

TRADING DESK

Markets were gripped by volatililty due to various reasons like crude oil prices crossing $70 per barrel, weakness in Asian markets, SEBI order on IPO scam and profit booking by FIIs.

However the bullish run in the three-hour session held on Saturday pushed the Sensex up, ending it above the 12K mark again. For the week ended 28 April 2006, Sensex gained a marginal 12.26 points to close at 12042 and S&P CNX Nifty declined slightly by 14.8 points to end at 3557.6. Domestic mutual funds continued to be active buyers as they continued to mop up stocks.

Market breadth was marginally negative with 13 out of 30 Sensex stocks ending in the negative territory. The biggest losers were Infosys, Satyam Computers and Ranbaxy.

Infosys (down by 4 per cent at Rs 3177), Satyam (down by 6 per cent at Rs 759) and Ranbaxy (down by 6 per cent at Rs 472) took away as much as 85 points from the Sensex. ONGC (down by 2.5 per cent at Rs 1306), Tata Motors (down by 2.8 per cent at Rs 950) and HDFC bank (down by 2.7 per cent at Rs 826) were other major losers.

Reliance Industries (up by 4.9 per cent at Rs 1021), Hindalco (up by 6 per cent at Rs 224) and ITC (up by 2 per cent at Rs 204) were among the few major gainers.

Major indices ended in positive territory barring the BSE Bankex (marginally down by 0.8 per cent at 5245), BSE Healthcare (down by 1.6 per cent at 3984), IT (down by 3.6 per cent at 4034), TEck (down by 2.2per cent at 2745) and BSE PSU (down marginally by 0.2 per cent at 6147).

BSE Metals (up by 4 per cent at 10762), BSE Oil and gas (up by 2.6 per cent at 5688) and BSE FMCG (up by 2 per cent at 2312) were the biggest gainers over the week. Sterlite industries, Hindustan Zinc, Essar OIl and Nestle pushed their respective indices.

Market sentiment was positive earlier in the week. However rising oil prices, earnings-disappointment and a tepid outlook by Microsoft on Friday had a great influence on the weekly performance of the US markets.

Markets ended flat for the week. Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 11367.14, gaining 0.17 percent. The Nasdaq lost 0.87 percent ending at 2,322.57.

What to expect this week
Markets are expected to get support due to strong domestic liquidity. Also players sitting on the fence till now may enter the market at lower levels. Market men will also be watching the outcome of assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerela.

Stock to watch

BATA INDIA
Last week's close (Rs) 272.68
Prev. week's close (Rs) 220.4
Week's high (Rs) 288.7
Week's low (Rs) 221.3
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr) 69.68
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr) 11.0
Number of up/down move 3/3

The stock of the footwear major Bata India has started attracting institutional interest in the expectation of the benefits of development of the company's surplus land in Batanagar as also a possible turn-around in the operations of its core business Recently, Fidelity Funds Mauritius Limited bought around 4.1 lakh shares or 6.3 per cent stake of the counter at about Rs 260.

The stock has shot up by over 20 per cent over the last week. The company also reported strong results in the March quarter of CY06. Net sales were marginally up by 2.6 per cent but net profit quadrupled to Rs 4.4 crore.

Stock of the week

INVESTMENT AND PRECISION CASTINGS LIMITED
Last week's close (Rs) 1472.8
Prev. week's close (Rs) 859.25
Week's high (Rs) 1472.8
Week's low (Rs) 841.15
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr) 1.93
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr) 0.56
Number of up/down move 5/1

Stock of Invesment and Precision Castings hit through the roof amid the volatile market gaining over 70 per cent over the past week to close at Rs 1472. The stock price has more than doubles in the last one month.

The stock gained on the announcement by the company for the issue of bonus shares in the ratio 3:1. The company caters to the premium segment of the castings industry, with the automotive industry accounting for 80% of its domestic business.