Institutional prop-up

STOCKS REPORT

Strong institutional buying at the fag end of the session helped the market close at a nine-month high of 5,996.70 points on Tuesday.

Opening weak, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex hit an intra-day low of 5,949.24 and a high of 6,002.03 before closing at 5,996.70, up 0.55 per cent (32.69 points).

Banking and automobile scips were among the biggest gainers, while oil and public sector unit scrips were among the biggest losers with 17 out of the 30 Sensex shares closing higher.

The breadth of the market also reflected the positive sentiment; with gainers outpacing losers 10:7.

The BSE Bankex index was the biggest gainer, up 2.50 per cent, followed by auto index up 1.98 per cent and the IT index gained 1.08 per cent.

The BSE Oil & Gas index fell 0.42 per cent and the PSU index was down 0.23 per cent.

Brokers said buying was seen in banking scrips on hopes of better profitability on the back of higher interest rates while investors bought auto scrips, welcoming the fall in petrol prices.

But analysts said the trend was more sentimental, attributing Tuesday's buying in automobile scrips to value picking after the recent fall in prices.

Brokers said the market traded flat in the morning with select profit taking place. It rose in the afternoon session on buying support from institutions - mostly foreign.

In fact, players said strong foreign fund inflows so far has led to the rally as it is mostly liquidity driven.

"This could also be the reason for a further upside as the inflow is expected to continue," said a head of research at a domestic brokerage house.

"Easing international oil prices also helped but at the current levels one can expect some volatility," he added.

HDFC Bank was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up 3.34 per cent to close at Rs 484.15, followed by Bajaj Auto up 2.73 per cent to Rs 1020.30, the State Bank of India up 2.58 per cent to Rs 504.80, HPCL gained 2.40 per cent to Rs 354.60 and Tata Motors up 2.40 per cent to Rs 440.05.

ONGC was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 2.48 per cent to Rs 795.50, followed by Ranbaxy Labs, down 2.08 per cent to Rs 1073.55, Bharti Tele-Ventures down 1.10 per cent to Rs 162.50, Reliance Energy fell 0.68 per cent to Rs 630 and HDFC was down 0.57 per cent to Rs 689.90.

Volumes were lower in the cash segment. The BSE reported a turnover of Rs 1,499.45 crore, while the National Stock Exchange reported a turnover of Rs 3,617.38 crore.