Insipid day, positive close

STOCKS REPORT

Telecom, pharma and auto companies were in the limelight in a lacklustre market on Tuesday. The market opened and closed in the positive territory, but not before falling into the negative zone in intra-day trades for brief spells.

The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex hit a high of 5266.99 and a low of 5214.99 in intra-day trades before closing at 5252.05, up 0.36 per cent (18.84 points) over Monday's close, but volumes continued to remain low.

Bluechips had a mixed day, with 19 out of the 30 scrips in the Sensex basket closing higher; gainers outpaced losers 11:8 on the BSE.

Brokers said that the Sensex should remain range bound in the near term over concerns of fledgling inflation and high crude prices.

However they felt that relief buying at lower levels will be visible as the undertone is positive. A dealer from a local brokerage house said that the market will remain subdued due to the lack of strong impetus.

The BSE Healthcare sector index was the biggest gainer on Tuesday, up 1.16 per cent, followed by the consumer durables sector index, up 0.47 per cent. The BSE TECk index was up 0.42 per cent. The BSE PSU index was up 0.29 per cent and the BSE IT index gained 0.26 per cent.

Analysts said that technology sector is emerging as a defensive sector with buying visible in the last few days. The BSE FMCG index fell 0.35 per cent.

Bharti Tele-Ventures was the biggest gainer on Tuesday, up 3.52 per cent to Rs 157.55, followed by the MTNL counter, up 2.79 per cent to Rs 132.55. Maruti Udyog gained 2.63 per cent to Rs 413.65, Bajaj Auto was up 2.50 per cent to Rs 891 and Tata Motors gained 1.83 per cent to Rs 433.95, making up the top five gainers in the Sensex basket. Ranbaxy Labs was up 1.4 per cent to Rs 965.40 and Dr Reddy's Labs gained 0.40 per cent to Rs 786.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries gained 0.94 per cent to Rs 496.75, the State Bank of India scrip was up 0.38 per cent to Rs 459.55, while FMCG pivotals ITC fell 0.61 per cent to Rs 1037.85 and HLL was down 1.12 per cent to Rs 115.

Cash segment volumes were marginally higher than on Monday, with the BSE reporting a turnover of Rs 1,780 crore and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) reporting a turnover of Rs 4,145.43 crore.