20% stocks hit upper circuit

The bulls were back in action today after being battered on two successive days, as the market gained a substantial 185.40 points to settle at 12389.41 on all-round buying support.

As many as 469 stocks, accounting for 20 per cent of the total traded stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange, hit the roof in intraday trading, while 340 remained at the upper end of the circuit filter at the day's close.

Of the 469 stocks that hit the upper circuit intraday, as many as 149 were from B2 group, while 63 were from T group (the trade-to-trade segment), 42 from S group, 38 from Z group, five from TS group and the remaining 43 from B1 and A groups.

Small-cap scrips from T, TS and Z groups were on a roll with more than 43 per cent of them froze at the upper limit of the circuit filter. A total of 20 per cent stocks each from T group and TS group and 24 per cent stocks from Z and S group combine closed at the day's upper limit.

On the sectoral basis, as many as 58 stocks of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) hit the upper limit of the circuit filter, followed by a total of 51 scrips from information technology, housing constructions (32), pharmaceuticals (17), engineering (12), cement (9), packaging (9), chemicals "� organic (12), entertainment (9) and plastics (10).

Ten companies each from IT, NBFC, pharmaceuticals, constructions (housing/ others), cement, plastics and solvent extractions hit the upper limit of the circuit filter.

The market breadth during the day was extremely positive, with the gainers outpacing the losers in the ratio of 2:1. Of the 2,583 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,839 advanced and 663 stocks declined, while 81 ended flat.

Among the technology stocks, D-Link India vaulted 19.52 per cent to end at Rs 102, Moser Baer surged 18.58 per cent to Rs 249, Micro Technologies soared 9.98 per cent to end at Rs 204 and Carol Info Services gained 9.81 per cent at Rs 41.

Lakshmi Machine Works hit the upper limit circuit of 3.08 per cent to close at Rs 26,344.50. Among the textile stocks that have hit the upper circuit are Dawn Mills, Swan Mills, Penland and Ruby Mills.

The stocks that have hit 20 per cent circuit limit in today's trading are Petronet LNG (Rs 57.90), SIEL (Rs 53.55), Jayant Agro Org (Rs 58.20), Eskay Knit (Rs 4.65), Dabur Pharma (Rs 80.05), Kisan Moulding (Rs 47.40) and Sulzer India (Rs 303.90).