Auto, banks lead the charge

STOCK REPORT

Stock prices ended up in choppy trade led by gains in auto and banking shares. The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 12982.98, up 80.35 points, or 0.6 per cent from Monday, after touching low of 12817.62 and high of 13026.85.

The National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 3770.55, up 35.95 points, or 1.0 per cent. It touched a low of 3717.15 and a high of 3775.85.

At around 12 pm, prices fell marginally because of profit booking, but recovered later. A nearly 2 per cent rise in index heavyweight, ONGC supported the rise.

ONGC, which fell in early trade, reversed losses on news that the company received an insurance claim worth Rs 864 crore for a previous accident on the Bombay High.

"The market has fallen nearly 16 per cent from its peak this year, and is now on the positive leg of consolidation. Tuesday's recovery in the Sensex from 12,815 levels, and some rise in mid-cap shares is testimony to that," said Hitesh Seth, a technical analyst with Prabhudas Lilladher.

On Tuesday, the CNX Mid-cap Index was up 0.8 per cent.

"Some buying by funds helped stabilise the market, but the selling pressure at a little over the 13100 level is likely to remain," said Ashish Shah of Niche Brokerage.

The combined turnover on BSE and NSE was over Rs 12,300 crore, up 13 per cent from Monday.

Gains in the CNX IT Index were contained almost through the day as shares of Infosys were down around 1 per cent. However, the index closed up 1.4 per cent as Infosys ended down 0.5 per cent at Rs 2,105.05.

Infosys was the only share that fell among key IT companies. Tata Consultancy Services ended up 2.5 per cent at Rs 1,265.40, and Satyam Computer ended up 2.9 per cent at Rs 454.70.

"Fund-based buying in mid-cap IT shares supported the sector," said a dealer from IL&FS.

Buying was also strong in the infrastructure and construction sectors, as these stocks have been hammered down nearly 40 per cent in the recent fall, and on hopes that the government may once again commission land for special economic zones, said Prabhudas' Seth. MTNL was up over 2 per cent at Rs 142.00.