Contract rollover aids rise

STOCK REPORT

Shares ended up around 1 per cent today as investors rolled over outstanding positions in the August derivatives contract to September.

For the first time since May 17 the Sensex closed above 11700 at 11706.85, up 87.33 points or 0.7 per cent. Intraday, it moved between a high of 11739.77 and low of 11651.96.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley expects the index to touch 13000 by November and 14000 by March 2007.

The Nifty ended at 3425.70, up 24.60 points or 0.7 per cent.

The combined turnover on both exchanges was around Rs 8,300 crore, up 16 per cent from Monday.

Oil prices are down to $70 a barrel (Rs 3,255) boosting sentiment and helping key Asian markets register gains today. South Korea's Kospi and Singapore's Strait Times Indices ended up 1.2 per cent today.

Notable Nifty gainers were Maruti Udyog, up 2.8 per cent at Rs 855.20, ITC, up 2.5 per cent at Rs 184.65, and Sun Pharmaceutical, up 2.5 per cent at Rs 906.70.

Other gainers included Wipro, up 2.4 per cent at Rs 525.60, Housing Development Finance Corp, up 2.2 per cent at Rs 1290.70, and Oil and Natural Gas Corp, up 2 per cent at Rs 1,221.60.

Worst hit among Nifty were Hindustan Lever, down 2.2 per cent at Rs 234.90, Tata Steel, down 1.9 per cent at Rs 517.25, and Bharat Petroleum Corp, down 1.5 per cent at Rs 352.65.

Technology shares were lead gainers with Infosys Technologies ending up 1.9 per cent at Rs 1,805.80 and Tata Consultancy Services ending up 1 per cent at Rs 990.

Lead metal shares ended down after opening firm. Steel Authority of India ended 1 per cent lower at Rs 77.20 and Hindalco Industries shed 0.6 per cent to end at Rs 175.40.

Bank of India ended up 4.3 per cent at Rs 143.70, extending gains on the back of a 25 basis point hike in prime lending rate to 11.50 per cent. Bharat Heavy Electricals closed 1.7 per cent higher at Rs 2,283.