Sensex recovers amid volatile F&O expiry

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended 76.98 points higher (0.49 per cent) at 15,776 on Thursday, as traders covered their short positions amid expiry of the July series.

The total market turnover crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time, as the market witnessed a record total turnover of Rs 1,02,416.74 crore, while the National Stock Exchange futures and options turnover touched Rs 79,995.85 crore.

The Sensex is 224 points short of its next target of 16,000. However, analysts are cautious about the market's next move and see a slowdown in the coming sessions.

The marketwide rollover in the F&O segment was at 77 per cent, while the Nifty futures witnessed a rollover of 68 per cent. There was a huge pick-up in stock futures rollover at 78 per cent.

The Sensex on Thursday opened with a robust gain of 69 points at 15,768.28 points and touched a high of 15,812.27 points within no time. As selling pressure in futures went up, the index slipped into the red at 15,654.40 points, coming down by 157 points from its peak.

However, an hour before the close, buying picked up and markets spiked to 15,776.31 points against yesterday's close of 15,699.33 points. The broader index S&P CNX Nifty gained 0.7 per cent to close at 4,619 points (up 31 points).

"The August contracts may not reflect the July response. The markets could be more volatile and the series may not see huge open interest. As long as markets are moving up open interest is no problem. But, once market goes down, selling pressure will be seen," Siddarth Bhamre, derivative analyst with Angel Broking said.

IT stocks, led by Infosys, scaled up, while bank and cement stocks were laggards. Analysts anticipate depressed sentiment for cement stocks, amid speculations of a government probe into a possible cartel approach by the industry. The government is also exploring the possibility of easing imports to keep prices under check.

Drug major Ranbaxy was the top gainer, surging 9.49 per cent to Rs 373.40. The company has settled a dispute with Glaxo Smithkline over its version of herpes treatment drug.

Cipla was up 3.93 per cent to Rs 193.55 while Maruti (up 3.88 per cent), TCS (up 3.98 per cent) and HDFC (up 3.07 per cent) were significant gainers. Reliance Industries ended the day at Rs 1,941 (up 1.98 per cent).

ACC lost 4.56 per cent to Rs 1,021.65. Ambuja Cement (down 2.84 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 2.28 per cent), BHEL (down 1.93 per cent) were the other significant losers.

Analysts are also keenly tracking the performance of mid- and small-cap stocks. The BSE mid-cap index was up 0.41 per cent, while the small cap index outperformed the Sensex, gaining 1.11 per cent. The BSE 500 rose by 0.44 per cent.