Positive end despite early scare

STOCKS REPORT

Despite a weak and volatile opening session, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex recovered in early afternoon trades to close firmly above the 6600 levels.

Taking a cue from short covering in the derivatives market, the cash market rose for the sixth straight day with higher volumes but profit-taking was seen at side counters, brokers said.

Capital goods, technology, FMCG and pharma were among the biggest gainers on Thursday while select consumer durable, metal and banking scrips witnessed selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex hit a high of 6685.33 and a low of 6587.57 in intra-day trades before finally closing at 6670.78 points, up 73.18 points (1.11 per cent) from its previous close. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.50 per cent and the Mid-Cap index fell 0.10 per cent.

A dealer from a domestic broking house said, "Short covering on the last day of the expiry of the current month's F&O contracts triggered a rally in the cash market. But we saw some profit booking in mid-cap and small-cap counters on Thursday."

The current month's futures contracts expired on Thursday, leading to some volatility but rollover was smooth, analysts added.

Among frontline counters, 23 out of the 30-scrip Sensex basket closed higher. But the breadth of the market was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 3:2 on the BSE.

Volumes were higher than on Wednesday, with a turnover of Rs 2,172.69 crore recorded on the BSE and Rs 5,621.11 crore on the NSE. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Indian shares worth Rs 10.80 crore on Wednesday while domestic mutual funds were net buyers to the tune of Rs 293.20 crore.

Bhel was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, rising 4.56 per cent to close at Rs 909.85, Wipro was up 4.24 per cent to Rs 715.65, Bharti Tele-Ventures gained 3.23 per cent to Rs 227.25, Tata Power was up 3.20 per cent to Rs 385.30 and Ranbaxy Labs was up 2.65 per cent to Rs 1,067.75.

HPCL was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 1.65 per cent to Rs 330.90, ACC fell 1.25 per cent to Rs 380.15, Satyam was down 0.86 per cent to Rs 448.75, HDFC Bank fell 0.68 per cent to Rs 536.55 and Zee Telefilms fell 0.18 per cent to Rs 139.75.