Short covering does the trick

STOCK REPORT

The stock market reversed early weakness to end up 0.6 per cent on short covering ahead of April derivatives contract expiry on Thursday, dealers said.

"A positive opening in European markets also bolstered market sentiment," said Hitendra Nayee, a dealer at Niche Brokerage. In the latter half of the day there was buying from funds, said Rajesh Khanna, a dealer at Pioneer Intermediaries.

The market opened down in the morning, taking cues from other Asian markets, and as investors booked profits after Tuesday's rally following the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy.

On Wednesday, the Sensex ended at 14,217.77, up 81.05 points from Tuesday, after touching a low of 14052.17 and a high of 14238.29 points intraday. The Nifty closed at 4167.30, up 25.50 points, or 0.6 per cent. It moved between a low of 4114.35 and a high of 4173.30 points during the session.

The turnover on BSE and NSE combined was Rs 16,200 crore, up 7 per cent from Tuesday. The CNX Midcap Index ended up 1 per cent and the S&P CNX 500 Index rose 0.6 per cent.

BSE Bank Index rose 1 per cent on buying in shares of private banks. Bank stocks had fallen sharply on Monday ahead of the monetary policy. Ranbaxy Laboratories ended the day as the Nifty's top gainer, up 6.3 per cent, as the company got exclusive rights for six months to make and market pravastatin in the US.

National Aluminium Company ended up 2 per cent at Rs 251. The company's January-March net profit declined 3 per cent on year to Rs 590 crore, but still exceeded analysts' estimates of Rs 560 crore.

There was buying in index heavyweight Reliance Industries as the company will announce results on Thursday, dealers said. The company is likely to report 10 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 2,760 crore, according to an average estimate of nine brokerages.

3i Infotech shares rose 2.5 per cent ahead of January-March earnings to be detailed later on Wednesday. Rumours that the company may announce a one-for-one bonus or an acquisition also supported the share price.

IT shares remained weak as the rupee touched a nine-year high at 40.89 per dollar. The CNX

IT Index was down 0.6 per cent. Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer dropped nearly 2 per cent.