Sensex, NSE end at record highs

STOCK REPORT

Strength in most banking and software shares helped elevate equities to new lifetime highs Tuesday. The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty ended at record closing highs for the fourth consecutive session, with the Sensex breaching the psychological 8500-mark mid-session. The Sensex has gained nearly 8 per cent this month.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex ended at of 8500.28, up 55.44 points or 0.7 per cent over Monday. The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty ended at 2578.00, up 10.90 points 0.4 per cent.

Intraday, the Sensex and Nifty recorded lifetime highs of 8515.50 and 2582.80, respectively. Indices had started off on a sluggish note, shedding a few points on profit taking. However, as the day progressed, banking and software shares gathered momentum and led the indices into positive territory.

Volumes surged as compared with the past two sessions. The total traded turnover on NSE stood at over 81 billion rupees compared with Rs 75 billion on Friday and Rs 70 billion on Monday.

However, the market breadth extended early negative trend, with losers outnumbering gainers 2,033:613 on the BSE. In the A group, 60 per cent of shares posted losses while in the B1 and B2 group over 75 per cent of the total traded shares fell.

Losses in mid-caps were reflected in 0.5 per cent drop in the CNX Midcap Index, which ended at 3885.25 after testing a high of 3904.40 and a low of 3860.80 intraday.

"The market took a breather early today. However, as the undertone remains positive it soon recovered and resumed its upward journey," said a dealer at a local brokerage. He expects the Sensex to test the 9000-mark by November, but suggests holding some liquidity to invest in case of downward corrections.

Broad-based dominance of banking and software shares was evident from the near 2 per cent rise in both CNX Bank Index and CNX IT Index. Oriental Bank of Commerce, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank were the top performers, up nearly 4 per cent each.

HCL Technologies, Satyam Computer Services, Infosys Technologies, and Tata Consultancy Services were other key gainers. Maruti Udyog, Shipping Corp. of India, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, and Gujarat Ambuja Cements featured among laggards.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, frozen at its upper limit, was the largest mid-cap gainer. The share rose to a new 52-week high of Rs 531.15 on news reports that the company is likely to acquire Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre. Sesa Goa ended down 6 per cent at Rs 985 after four straight sessions of big gains.