Sensex ends at record high

STOCK REPORT

Key indices closed firm on Tuesday, but way off their record intra-day highs. Sensex ended at a record close of 8525.

The session was volatile and the trend is expected to continue till Thursday, when September futures contracts expire. Tata Motors was the top Nifty gainer, up 5 per cent.

Maruti Udyog was the major Nifty laggard, down nearly 2 per cent. The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex ended at 8525.52, up 46.61 points or 0.6 per cent over Friday, after touching a high of 8585.76. The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty rose 17.50 points or 0.7 per cent to close at 2574.85, after making a new high of 2592.50.

The turnover on both the exchanges was around Rs 98 billion, slightly higher than the Rs 85 billion on Monday. However, it was still lower than the Rs 114 billion- turnover clocked Friday.

The session was marked by volatility""equities had opened firm before slipping marginally in the early minutes of trade. They soon recovered sharply and touched record levels within a few hours. The Sensex had swayed in the 8444.98-8585.76 range today. Nifty moved in a 43-point band""2549.85 to 2592.50.

"The session was volatile today also and is likely to be so until Thursday due to F&O expiry," said Sridhar Iyer, vice president sales at Batliwala & Karani Securities.

"I am slightly cautious at these levels, I think the run-up has come through. There was a lack of fresh buying today due to the high levels and most of the short covering has already come through. Hence I would advise investors to book profits," he continued.

Friday, foreign funds net sold shares worth $74.6 million Friday. Despite the negative numbers, equities continued their upward trend today.

"There is a possibility of foreign inflows slowing down, as there is no arbitrage opportunity at these levels," Iyer said. Other Asian markets under-performed Indian bourses with Korea's Kospi and Taiwan shares ending up marginally.

Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong and Singapore Shares ended lower. Back home, three stocks namely Tata Motors, Hindustan Lever and ICICI Bank hit new highs, on the Nifty.

Tata Motors was the key gainer, up 5 per cent at Rs 546.10. It had hit a new all-time high of Rs 549.50. Analysts were bullish on the stock and said that the stock could touch Rs 570 in a week's time. From a long-term perspective, the stock could top Rs 770 level in a year or two.

ICICI Bank hit a new all-time high of Rs 593.50, before settling at Rs 590.35, up 2.5 per cent. Dealers were also bullish on Hindustan Lever shares and said that it has given a good breakout on monthly charts.

They said that the immediate resistance for HLL was at Rs 188. HLL ended up 2.7 per cent at Rs 180.85. Indian Petrochemicals, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals, Oil and Natural Gas, National Aluminium Co., Videsh Sanchar Nigam, and Bajaj Auto were up 2-4 per cent.

Other than Maruti, Bharti Tele-ventures, Dabur India, Mahindra and Mahindra, ITC and Tata Tea, were among the major losers, down 1-1.4 per cent. Among second line indices, CNX Bank index closed at 4549.50, up 1.4 per cent. The CNX IT Index underperformed and ended almost flat at 3272.75.

Mid-cap shares were at par with pivotal stocks and clocked nearly 1 per cent gains. BSE Small Cap Index ended up 0.6 per cent while BSE Midcap Index ended up 0.8 per cent. The CNX Midcap Index ended up 0.8% at 3803.95. HMT was the top index gainer, up 16 per cent and Gammon India was up 11 per cent.