Short-covering booster

STOCKS REPORT

Short-covering by traders on maturity of December contracts in the derivative segment pulled key indices higher on Wednesday. Steel, cement and automobile stocks were among the leading gainers.

The 30-share BSE Sensitive Index surged 77.59 points at 5,641.92, its best close since March 1, 2000 - a new 45-month high. During intraday trades, the Sensex touched a low of 5,560.23 and a high of 5,648.24.

With today's gains, the Sensex has risen 2,278.27 points, or 67 per cent, in the calendar year 2003, making it one of the best performing indices in the world. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the NSE S&P CNX Nifty added 28.40 points to close above the 1,800-mark at 1,808.70.

Sanjay Sinha, fund manager with UTI Mutual Fund said, "Short-covering was expected since it was the last day of settlement and the put-call ratio was more than one."

Sinha also added, "Ahead of the elections next year, with development becoming the buzz word, the infrastructure sector will see accelerated growth."

Tata Steel, the largest private sector steel maker, surged 4.04 per cent to close at Rs 411.85 on the back of firm trend in the domestic and international steel prices.

Steel Authority of India jumped 7.12 per cent to close at Rs 49.65. Two-wheeler major, Hero Honda Motor surged 7.99 per cent to Rs 451.30 on sustained buying on hopes of impressive quarterly results. State-run shares were higher after the government approved stake sales in two top energy firms.

Natural gas supplier, Gas Authority of India jumped 4.92 per cent to Rs 219.45. Hindustan Petroleum surged 4.53 per cent to Rs 433.45. MTNL added 2.87 per cent to Rs 127.10 and BHEL edged up 1.07 per cent to Rs 482.4 on fresh buying interest. But ONGC fell 0.91 per cent to close at Rs 731.85, off from its high of Rs 798 in mid-trading session.