Sensex touches new peak of 14,664 points

The new level marks yet another high for Indian capital market.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex finally scaled a new peak on Monday, marking yet another high for the Indian capital markets "� nearly five months after it last reached a record level.

The 30-share Sensex closed at 14,664.26 points (up 13.75 points or 0.09 per cent over Friday), beating the previous highest closing of 14,652 posted on February 8 this year.

The broader NSE-50 Index, which hit a new record last Friday, slid 4.55 points or 0.1 per cent to 4,313.75.

Analysts expect short-term corrections in stock prices, but there is no doubt about the overall direction of the market, which remains bullish for the long-term. Top sectors that could outperform the markets are cement, banking and telecom, they say. 
 

GAINERS AND LOSERS Sensex scrips                                                   (Price in Rs)
	08-Feb-07	02-Jul-07	% change
Top Gainers
Tata Steel	461.60	593.40	28.55
Larsen & Toubro	1752.55	2234.90	27.52
SBI	1204.59	1530.80	27.08
BHEL	1254.02	1533.00	22.25
Reliance Ind	1395.35	1684.50	20.72
Top Losers
Bajaj Auto	3008.25	2129.19	-29.22
Tata Motors	895.55	684.05	-23.62
Maruti Udyog	963.15	771.35	-19.91
Wipro	634.95	512.75	-19.25
Infosys Technologies	2368.25	1942.65	-17.97

Earnings for the April-June quarter, disclosure of which begins next week with Infosys Technologies (on July 11), will be the next driver for the markets, they say. The appreciation in the rupee value and the rise in interest rates are the major concerns for the market in the short term.

DLF Ltd's listing on Thursday, say analysts, will be the key short-term trigger for the market. "If DLF Ltd ends its debut day at a discount to the issue price of Rs 525, one could see a sharp downward correction," said an analyst with a foreign brokerage.

The value of the rupee will also play a part. "If the currency rises to above Rs 40 a dollar, one could see the information technology (IT) sector alone pulling the market down," said Alex Mathew, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE IT Index has lost as much as 10.96 per cent since February because of the nearly 9 per cent rise in the rupee.

Heavyweights such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Satyam, which earn most of their revenues in dollars, will be impacted due to the rise in the rupee.

Said Rajen Shah, chief investment officer of Angel Broking, "The Sensex rally means creation of more wealth for investors. Although banking stocks were performing exceedingly well last week on account of soothing inflation numbers, there has been some amount of profit booking, which is good for the smooth functioning of the market. Liquidity has been the major trigger, but I think markets will remain range bound for tomorrow."

The advance-decline ratio showed that about 55 per cent of stocks ended in positive territory on Monday.

The top gainers on Monday were Maruti Udyog (up 3.89 per cent to Rs 771.35), Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 2.65 per cent to Rs 364.70), Reliance Communications (up 2.45 per cent to Rs 529.70) and Tata Motors (up 2.14 per cent to Rs 684.05).