Flat after a flighty run

Stocks Report

 The market opened firm but edged down around mid-morning. After displaying strength in afternoon trades, the Sensex lost ground once again towards close, and eventually ended flat.

 Select old economy counters like cement and steel continued to rise on hopes of improved quarterly results. Cement pivotal Gujarat Ambuja Cements was up 4.27 per cent to close at Rs 243.20, while L&T was up 1.78 per cent at Rs 355.05.

 Steel major Tata Steel was up 4.01 per cent to close at Rs 303.55. More than 84.64 lakh Tata Steel shares were traded on the BSE.

 Gains were also seen in pharma stocks. GlaxoSmithKline Pharma was up 3.56 per cent at Rs 468.30 and Ranbaxy Labs was up 0.77 per cent at Rs 981.10.

 Heavyweights State Bank of India, Reliance Industries and Hindustan Lever traded weak for almost the entire day. State Bank of India was down 1.82 per cent to close at Rs 456.35, Reliance Industries was down 1.41 per cent at Rs 451.65 and Hindustan Lever was down 0.81 per cent to end the day at Rs 190.05. ITC closed at Rs 836.55, down 0.43 per cent from its previous close.

 ICICI Bank was up 7.36 per cent to close at Rs 227.60. More than 19.39 lakh shares of the bank were traded on BSE today.

 Castrol India was up 2.97 per cent to close at Rs 201.20, HPCL was up 1.72 per cent at Rs 358.25 and Tata Motors was up 1.23 per cent at Rs 246.55.

 Infosys Technologies closed at Rs 4,456.05, down 2.30 per cent from its previous close. Other tech pivotals HCL Tech was down 1.80 per cent to finish at Rs 182.25 and Satyam Computer was down 0.54 per cent at Rs 256.55.

 Hero Honda Motor was down 1.93 per cent to close at Rs 325.55 and Bajaj Auto was down 0.51 per cent at Rs 853.60.