Sensex touches all-time high, ends at 10,124

STOCK REPORT

Equities struggled to maintain altitude on Thursday, closing way off session highs. Auto shares rallied, but weakness in index heavyweights such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries weighed on major indices.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 9 per cent after the company on Thursday won the race for German drug firm Betapharm.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex ended at 10,124.30, up 11.12 points after touching an all-time high of 10195.42.

The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty closed at 3,021.60, down 0.60 points.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories was the star performer of the day after it triumphed over other bidders, including Ranbaxy Laboratories, to acquire Betapharm for ¤480 million ($570 million) in an all-cash deal. The stock closed at Rs 1,280.65 after touching a 52-week high of Rs 1,295.90 intraday.

Among other big gainers on Thursday, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hero Honda rose 3-4 per cent.

"Market operators are beginning to take a cautious view, but FIIs continue to be heavy buyers," said Kaushik Shah, director, Kaushik Shah Securities.

Among big laggards, Tata Tea shares fell over 5 per cent to Rs 952.50. National Aluminium Company shares continued to be volatile, falling 4 per cent to Rs 275. The stock has been fluctuating in a Rs 270-307 band since the beginning of this month.

Ranbaxy Laboratories shares fell around 4 per cent to Rs 432 after the company lost out to Dr Reddy's in its bid for Betapharm.

Bajaj Auto, Hindalco Industries, ITC, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, and GAIL(India) closed around 2 per cent weak, while index heavyweights ONGC and Reliance Industries ended around 1 per cent lower each.

Gainers narrowly trailed losers 1,254:1,264. The CNX IT Index and the CNX Midcap Index snapped a three and two-day losing streak, respectively, to close marginally up.

New listings at the bourses were mixed. Gujarat State Petroleum shares closed at Rs 40.20, up 49 per cent over its issue price. However, Sree Sakthi Paper Mills ended at Rs 29.20, around 3 per cent down from its issue price of Rs 30.

Among the mid-cap shares, Bank of India and India Cement were the major gainers, up 8 per cent and 6 per cent , respectively. Pfizer was the biggest loser, down over 6 per cent.

In corporate announcements, Tata Motors said it had raised 11.76 billion yen via a convertible bond issue, with a conversion price of Rs 1001.39 a share.

Jet Airways said it flew a record 36,406 passengers with a seat factor of 86 per cent on Wednesday.