Retail, oil scrips charge up

STOCKS REPORT

Retail and oil companies were in the limelight in an otherwise lacklustre trading session on Monday. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed higher but traded volumes were marginally lower.

Consumer durables, oil, technology and PSU counters were among the biggest gainers on Monday while select metal and FMCG scrips witnessed selling pressure.

In a volatile trading session, the BSE Sensex hit a high of 6549.57 and a low of 6499.21 in intra-day trades before closing at 6539.83 points, up 40.33 points (0.62 per cent) from its previous close. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.37 per cent and the Mid-Cap index gained 0.53 per cent.

Oil scrips were in the limelight on talks of hike in retail prices and a fall in international oil prices, both being beneficial to oil companies, analysts said. A sparking debut by Shopper's Stop on the bourses went well for other retail companies, brokers said.

A dealer at a domestic broking house said, "The market is in consolidation phase and we are seeing stock specific activity. The market will improve as investors increasingly make select and mature investment decisions."

There is substantial activity in mid-cap and side-cap counters and big action is limited in frontline counters. Investors are awaiting some fresh impetus and the monsoon will now be closely watched, analysts added.

Among frontline counters, 21 out of the 30-scrip Sensex basket closed higher. The breadth of the market was also positive, with gainers outpacing losers 3:1 on the BSE. Volumes were lower than on Friday, with a turnover of Rs 1,897.21 crore recorded on the BSE and Rs 3,357.25 crore on the NSE.

Satyam was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, rising 3.82 per cent to close at Rs 459.80, followed by HPCL, up 2.63 per cent to Rs 337.65, ONGC gained 2.39 per cent to Rs 868.05, BHEL was up 2.14 per cent to Rs 872.80 and Maruti Udyog gained 2.09 per cent to Rs 454.30.

HLL was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 1.65 per cent to Rs 127.85, Tata Steel fell 1.28 per cent to Rs 351, HDFC was down 1 per cent to Rs 757.20, Gujrat Ambuja Cement was down 0.68 per cent to Rs 437.25 and Tata Power fell 0.56 per cent to Rs 364.95.