Oil dip provides solace

STOCKS REPORT

Oil, automobile and public sector unit counters were among the biggest gainers but volumes remained low on the bourses on Tuesday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at 5,738.11, gaining 1.03 per cent (58.28 points) from Monday's close. The Sensex hit an intra-day high of 5,751.60 and a low of 5,686.97.

Blue chip stocks were back in demand, witnessing good buying support, with 28 out of the 30 Sensex stocks closing higher.

The broader market did not reflect the same broad-based buying, with gainers outpacing losers in the 9:7 ratio. Brokers said the market witnessed some buying after two days of losses, with lower international oil prices lifting the sentiment.

Players said most stocks that witnessed buying on Tuesday had fallen in the last few sessions and some bargain buying was seen as the undertone remains positive on the back of quarterly results which are expected to be good.

Analysts though said that oil prices remain a worry and the market should remain range-bound in the near-term. Despite trading in a narrow range for most part of the day, late buying towards the end of the session helped the market surge.

A dealer from a local brokerage said a fall in oil prices and a rally in technology counters boosted US stocks on Monday, which also helped the domestic sentiment.

The BSE Oil & Gas index was the biggest gainer, up 1.74 per cent, followed by the auto index, up 1.51 per cent, PSU index gained 1.47 per cent and metal index gained 1.20 per cent. The FMCG index was the only loser, down 0.15 per cent.

Tata Power was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up 2.92 per cent to close at Rs 315.95, followed by Tata Motor, up 2.47 per cent to Rs 415.55, Bharti Tele-Ventures gained 2.27 per cent to Rs 151.05, Bajaj Auto up 2.19 per cent to Rs 1005.40 and Wipro gained 2.12 per cent to Rs 652.25. Heavyweight ITC was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, down 0.48 per cent to Rs 1,098.45, dragging the FMCG index down.

The other Sensex basket loser was ACC, down 0.04 per cent to Rs 264.40. Other heavyweights Reliance Industries gained 1.71 per cent to Rs 559.95, State Bank of India (SBI) was up 0.95 per cent to Rs 464.65 and Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) up 0.04 per cent to Rs 126.30.