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Sensex rises 111 pts to end at 1-month closing high

Markets ended near their one-month closing highs with capital goods and financial shares leading the

Tulemino Antao Mumbai
Last Updated : Feb 24 2014 | 3:54 PM IST
Benchmark share indices ended near their one-month closing highs amid institutional buying with capital goods and financial shares leading the gains.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 111 points to end at 20,811 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 31 points at 6,186. On January 27, 2014, the Sensex had ended at 20,707 and the Nifty at 6,134.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore since February 14, 2014.

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The rupee extended gains and was trading higher at Rs 61.98 against the US dollar compared to its previous close of Rs 62.12. Gains in equities helped improve sentiment.

Asian shares ended lower on Monday. The Nikkei ended lower amid a volatile trading session on the back of a stronger yen and profit booking at higher levels after the benchmark share index touched its highest level in three weeks during intra-day trade. The Nikkei finally ended down 0.2% at 14,838. Shares in Hong Kong and mainlaind China fell sharply with property stocks losing the most amid talk that raised concerns banks have halted extending credit to real estate firms. Shanghai COmposite was down 1.8%, Hang Seng lost 0.8% and Straits Times ended up 0.2%.

European shares were trading weak in early trades after discouraging outlook for 2014 by German auto major Volkswagen and tracking weakness in China's stocks. Germany's DAX firmed up after slipping 0.4% in early trades, FTSE slipped 0.4% while CAC-40 was trading with marginal losses.

Moody's Analytics, a research arm of Moody's group, today pegged India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 4.8% in the third quarter of the current financial year.

BSE Capital Goods index was the top gainer among the sectoral indices up 2.5% followed by Healthcare, Auto, Bankex, Oil and Gas indices. Power index was the top loser down 1.5% along with IT and Metals.

L&T ended higher by nearly 3% at Rs 1,082 after the company said it has received Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval for foreign direct investment (FDI) in L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited (L&T IDPL). BHEL is up 2.5%.

Other shares which contributed the most to Sensex gains include, Axis Bank, HDFC, ITC, ICICI Bank and M&M up 0.7-3.8% each.

Tata Power ended up 5% after electricity regulator CERC has allowed higher tariff as well as compensation of Rs 329.45 crore for Tata Power's 4,000 MW Mundra project to compensate for increase in the price of imported coal, while it has granted nearly Rs 830 crore compensation for Adani Power’s 4,620 MW Mundra plant in Gujarat, the PTI report suggest.

NTPC slumped 11% and was the top Sensex loser after the recent norms released by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission is seen negative for the state-owned power producter

IT major TCS and telecom major Bharti Airtel were among the top Sensex losers amid profit taking after recent gains.

Among other shares, SKF India surged 7% to end at Rs 700 after reporting a robust 50% year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 48.39 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013 (Q4) on back of strong operational performance and lower raw material cost. EBITDA or operating margin improved to 11.62% from 8.6%.

CEAT Ltd recovered after slipping nearly 5% intra-day to finally end the session with marginal losses. The stock had slipped after a major fire broke out at its tyre manufacturing unit in Nahur, near the north-eastern suburb of Bhandup in Mumbai on Sunday. However, the exact details of damage are unknown.

Pfizer soared 9% to end at Rs 1,138 on BSE after the company announced an internal corporate restructuring plan. Under the plan, Pfizer East India B.V. Netherlands proposed to acquire 60.94% stake which collectively held by Pfizer Corporation (31.42%) and Pfizer Investments Netherlands B V (29.52%), Pfizer said in a BSE filing.

DCM Shriram has surged 5% to end at Rs 71.40 after its board approved a buyback of equity shares at a maximum price of Rs 90 per share from the open market. The buyback price is at a premium of 32% over Friday’s closing price of Rs 68 on the NSE.

Shares of Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) plunged 8% to end at Rs 788 after the IDBI rejected the bids received from the potential investors as they were not found 'acceptable'.

ICRA ended locked in upper circuit of 20% at Rs 1,913 on the BSE after the promoter’s made a conditional open offer to buy at least 2.15 million shares at Rs 2,000 per share to increase their stake in the company to 55% from 28.5%.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices ended up 0.3% each.

Market breadth ended strong with 1,370 gainers and 1,292 losers on the BSE.

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First Published: Feb 24 2014 | 3:52 PM IST

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