Sensex gains 26 pts at close

The Sensex opened with a firm positive gap of 24 points at 6,563. Further buoyancy in most of the counters lifted the index to an intra-day high of 6,579 in early trades. The sentiment, however, turned weak by mid-morning trades as a wave of selling pressure dragged the index to a low of 6,523.

After languishing in negative territory thereafter, the market witnessed a turnaround by mid-noon trades as selective buying in tech, banking, pharma and auto stocks saw the Sensex sign off the session with a gain of 26 points at 6565.

The Nifty, too, after a mixed outing, gained 15 points to close at 2,029.

While 17 Sensex stocks advanced, 13 declined today. Advancing shares accounted for a volume of 58 lakh amounting to Rs 316.80 crore, and declining shares registered a volume of 46 lakh for Rs 201.91 crore.

The market breadth, however, was weak. Of 2,022 scrips traded on the BSE, 928 advanced, 1,052 declined and 42 stocks remained unchanged.

Infosys, with a traded volume of over 2.51 lakh, logged a per cent gain (Rs 22) to Rs 2,157. While Wipro jumped 2.13% (Rs 14) to Rs 682, Satyam, however, dropped 1.74% (Rs 8) to Rs 452. The counter clocked a volume of over 15.53 lakh.

ITC (up Rs 9 to Rs 1,501) and ONGC (up Rs 3 to Rs 872) finished with steady gains. Reliance, however, ended marginally lower at Rs 530.

SBI, which registered a volume of over 10.96 lakh, soared 1.90% (Rs 12) to Rs 663. While ICICI Bank was down a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 399, HDFC Bank also ended in the red at Rs 543 - down Rs 3.

Ranbaxy, which got the USFDA nod to launch its Clarithromycin tablets in USA, flared up 2.23% (Rs 22) to Rs 1,002. While Cipla moved up 1.92% (Rs 5) to Rs 278, Dr. Reddy's, however, was down a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 691.

Tata Motors advanced 2.82% (Rs 12) to Rs 445, and Maruti gained a per cent (Rs 4) to Rs 458. Bajaj, however, slipped a per cent (Rs 11) to Rs 1,206, with Hero Honda, too, ending a per cent lower (Rs 3) at Rs 569.

While Tisco, with a traded volume of over 14.86 lakh, added 1.95% (Rs 7) to Rs 358, Tata Power was up 1.26% (Rs 5) at Rs 370. Zee, however, tumbled 3.60% (Rs 5) to Rs 145, with traded volumes of over nine lakh.

Metal stocks logged decent gains. Monnet Ispat shot up 8.74% (Rs 12) to Rs 155, with Sun Iron & Steel jumping 7.60% to Rs 15. While Sail soared 7.40% (Rs 4) to Rs 52, Lloyd Steel flared up 4.79% to Rs 19. PSL, Uttam Galva, Sterlite Industries, Mukand and Electrosteel Castings moved up in a range of 1-2%.

Select auto stocks, however, eased today. Rane Brakes dropped 6.37% (Rs 17) to Rs 252, while Kalyani Brakes slumped 3.49% (Rs 25) to Rs 690. Mother Sumi declined 3% (Rs 2) to Rs 63, and Bajaj Tempo lost 2.41% (Rs 7) to Rs 292. Ucal Fuel, Punjab Tractors, Escorts and LML also ended at lower levels.

Reliance led the value chart with a turnover of Rs 75 crore, followed by SBI (Rs 72 crore), Satyam (Rs 70 crore) and Infosys (Rs 54 crore), respectively.