Pressure on pivotals

STOCKS REPORT

Consumer durables and capital goods scrips were among the biggest gainers on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Thursday.

Public sector, information technology and banking counters were among the biggest losers as the BSE Sensex closed at 5,954.31, falling 0.33 per cent (19.44 points) from Wednesday's close.

Volumes were lower with the Sensex hitting an intra-day high of 5,995.33 and a low of 5,943.33. Blue chip stocks saw select selling pressure, with 15 out of the 30 Sensex stocks closing lower.

The broader market also reflected the weak sentiment, with gainers edging out losers 9:7 on the BSE.

Brokers said some profit-booking at higher levels was expected after the recent rally. Besides, the festival mood seems to have taken a toll as players stayed away.

Select buying was witnessed in early trades but profit-taking at higher levels led to the fall on Thursday.

Players said foreign fund buying is helping the market sustain higher levels but profit taking at these levels is capping gains.

Players are hoping that the current positive run carries the market above the 6,000 levels on Friday which also marks the beginning of the new 'Vikram Samvat'.

Regular trading is closed on Friday on account of Diwali but a muhurat trading session will be held.

The BSE Consumer Durables index was the biggest gainer, up 0.74 per cent, followed by the capital goods index up 0.50 per cent and the healthcare index was up 0.11 per cent.

The BSE PSU index was the biggest loser, down 1.12 per cent, followed by IT index down 0.82 per cent, Bankex index fell 0.68 per cent and the oil & gas index was down 0.55 per cent.

Tata Power was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up 2.53 per cent to close at Rs 322.10, followed by Cipla up 1.35 per cent to Rs 277.85, Zee Telefilms gained 1.32 per cent to Rs 153.15, Maruti Udyog was up 0.85 per cent to Rs 381.25 and Bharti Tele-Ventures gained 0.74 per cent to Rs 164.05.

Hero Honda was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 1.77 per cent to Rs 434.55, followed by HDFC Bank down 1.54 per cent to Rs 466.90, ONGC fell 1.30 per cent to Rs 815, Satyam Computer was down 1.13 per cent to Rs 402.40 and Infosys Technologies was down 1.13 per cent to Rs 2,016.70.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 167.40 crore, while domestic mutual funds were net sellers to the tune of Rs 18 crore on Wednesday.

The turnover was lower than on Wednesday in the cash segment of the bourses. The BSE reported a turnover of Rs 1,450.29 crore and the National Stock Exchange reported a turnover of Rs 3,371.56 crore.