Positive gains on late surge

STOCK REPORT

Key indices made a smart recovery in late trades on Thursday and ended up after five days of losses. The Nifty rose over 1 per cent in the last hour of trading, led by over 6 per cent gain in Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and over 5 per cent rise in Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL). Both these stocks do not figure in the Sensex, so the index did not gain as much as the Nifty.

The Sensex closed at 7660.42, up 48.42 points from Tuesday. The index saw an intra-day high of 7672.18 and a low of 7595.84.

The Nifty closed at 2359.20, up 32.05 points, after touching an intraday low of 2320.70.

"The market was not looking convincingly strong at open, but later it recovered, which indicates that the undertone still remains positive," said a dealer at a local brokerage.

The market is likely to gain momentum in the next few sessions and touch previous highs following the expiry of derivatives on Thursday, the dealer said.

Bulls managed to outpace the bears after having trailed five sessions in a row. On the BSE, over four shares posted gains as against every share declining. Total traded turnover, on both exchanges combined, exceeded Rs 98 billion.

Technology shares were among the top performers on Thursday, with Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services gaining over 4 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.

Index heavyweights Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Reliance Industries, and State Bank of India also featured among key Nifty gainers.

Downstream oil major Bharat Petroleum Corp. was the biggest laggard in the Nifty, down nearly 2 per cent. Hindustan Petroleum Corp. fell around 1 per cent. Dealers said that the surging global crude oil prices were hampering sentiment for these stocks.

Mid caps too gathered strength along with the front lines, with the CNX Midcap Index closing over 1 per cent higher at 3549.05. The index had shed over 1 per cent on Wednesday.

The CNX IT Index rose nearly 2 per cent to end at 3049.85 as against Wednesday's close of 2999.25. CNX Bank Index closed 0.5 per cent higher at 4038.05.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Ispat Industries, Jaiprakash Associates, and Syndicate Bank were the top mid-cap gainers, up 7-9 per cent.

Mphasis BFL shed 5 per cent after private equity firm Barings India called off the sale of its 35.6 per cent stake in the company.

Pantaloon Retail India was another major loser, down over 3 per cent, as its rights issue ratio disappointed investors.