Year ends on a positive note

STOCK REPORT

The stock market signed off 2007 on a cheerful note, rising nearly 1 per cent, cheered by gains in telecommunication, and oil and gas shares and positive cues from Asian markets.

The BSE Sensex ended the day at 20286.99, up 80.04 points or 0.4 per cent and the Nifty closed at 6138.60, up 58.90 points or 1 per cent. The day's combined turnover was Rs 285.60 billion compared with Rs 259 billion on Friday.

Technology shares were laggards on Monday amid persistent concerns over the US economy. Infosys fell 1.5 per cent to Rs 1,770 and TCS was down 0.4 per cent to Rs 1,077.

The BSE IT sector index has been an underperformer this year, declining by around 14 per cent. "It has been a good year for investors across sectors, barring IT (information technology) and pharma," said Kamlesh Kotak, head of research, Asian Market Securities.

"With 40 per cent plus returns, we are among the top 10 best performing markets in the world," he added.

The year 2007 belonged to mid-cap and small-cap shares, with the CNX midcap index rising by 75 per cent.

The capital goods sector outperformed the broader market. Led by L&T and BHEL, the BSE Capital Goods index rose by 117 per cent.

Power shares saw a good run-up after Reliance Energy announced plans of an initial public offer for its arm Reliance Power. BSE Oil & Gas Sector gained 114 per cent this year.