Value buying booster

STOCKS REPORT

Telecom, metal, fast moving consumer goods and public sector undertaking company scrips were back to their winning ways on Thursday after a bout of profit-taking on Wednesday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex hit an intra-day high of 5483.59 and a low of 5401 before closing at 5477.68, up 1.06 per cent (57.59 points) from Wednesday's close.

The BSE Metal Index was the biggest gainer on Thursday, up 2.66 per cent, followed by the FMCG Index, up 2.33 per cent and the PSU Index up 2.33 per cent.

Value buying helped the market close firmly above the 5,400-mark. Opening weak, the market witnessed good buying support in blue chip counters which helped the benchmark indices post gains.

Brokers said the market undertone is bullish on the back of sustained foreign fund inflows. They said investors were positive and many were of the opinion that inflation had peaked and were looking ahead to strong corporate earnings for the July-September quarter. Easing international oil prices had also contributed to the recent gains of the market, they added.

Blue chips had a good day, with 25 out of the 30 Sensex shares closing higher. The broader markets were also positive after witnessing selling pressure in the last few days. Gainers outpaced losers in the 2:1 ratio on the BSE.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, gaining 6.73 per cent to Rs 127.75, followed by ITC, up 4.74 per cent to Rs 1142.20, Tata Power up 3.47 per cent to Rs 293.65, Tata Steel up 2.96 per cent to Rs 273.40 and Zee Telefilms up 2.82 per cent to Rs 155.05.

HDFC was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, down 1.54 per cent to Rs 606.70, followed by Infosys Technologies, down 0.43 per cent to Rs 1,694.60, Cipla was down 0.42 per cent to Rs 269.50, Grasim fell 0.31 per cent to Rs 1,192.85 and Bhel fell 0.21 per cent to Rs 587.80.

Among heavyweights, State Bank of India was up 2.1 per cent to Rs 465.25, Reliance Industries up 0.69 per cent to Rs 491 and Hindustan Lever was up 0.16 per cent to Rs 123.75.

Turnover was marginally lower than on Wednesday in the cash segment of the bourses. The BSE reported a turnover of Rs 1,705.01 crore and the National Stock Exchange reported a turnover of Rs 3,934.01 crore.