Sensex surges

STOCK MONITOR

f/110804_02.pdf">individual scrip performance)  Domestic pharma and IT scrips witnessed a relief rally, triggered by the victory of George W Bush in the US presidential elections.  Shares of oil refining-cum-marketing companies surged on Friday after oil marketing companies raised retail prices of diesel and petrol by over Rs 2 per litre with effect from Thursday midnight.  IT, banking and blue chips were among the major gainers. IT bellwether Infosys was the top contributor to index gains. The scrip, with a weightage of 12.36 per cent in the index, gained 3.66 per cent over its previous weekly close.  Following closely were ICICI Bank and SBI which contributed 24.87 and 20.73 points to the Sensex respectively. HLL, another major contributor, gained 6.45 per cent and contributed 15.3 points to the index.  The sole negative contribution to the Sensex came from Cipla which was an aberration from the upheaval in pharma scrips, including Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's.  Cipla lost close to 2 per cent and shaved off a puddly 1.63 points from the index. Fears of a supply crunch in oil prices have dissipated and hopes of a renewed flow into emerging markets are keeping the sentiment upbeat.  

Stock to watch

NTPC
National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) saw gains on the day of its listing on Friday. The stock opened at Rs 88 and immediately came down to Rs 70. The stock went on to gain 22 per cent over its issue price of Rs 62 to touch Rs 75.55 at the day's close.

The turnover at the bourses, too, was impressive, aggregating to an average of over Rs 120 crore. Market players say the selling mainly came from the retail and high net-worth individuals (HNIs) who sold the stock for a quick buck while many foreign institutional investors accumulated the stock over the day.

Analysts and market players alike expect the stock to touch Rs 100 over the next six months. If market talk is to be believed, the price is expected to be anywhere between Rs 85-90 over this week.

NTPC is the largest power utility company in the country. With the growth in economy reviving infrastructure expenditure, the stock may hold attraction.

 

Stock of the week
 

BPCL
Last week's close (Rs)	397.07
Prev. week's close (Rs)	346.35
Week's high (Rs)	400.00
Week's low (Rs)	336.30
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	50.59
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	22.08
Futures close	NT
Number of up/down move	4/1

Oil marketing companies heaved a sigh of relief on Friday. Boosted by the news of the hike in petrol and diesel prices, BPCL's stock rose, recording the highest gain among Sensex companies last week - 14.6 per cent up to levels of Rs 397.

The stock recorded a 131 per cent rise in volume turnover. Oil marketing companies have been crying foul for months as the government had refused to listen to their plea for raising petrol and diesel prices despite international crude oil prices remaining high.

The companies had estimated under-recoveries of Rs 10,000 crore in the second half of this fiscal. The hike in prices should help BPCL post decent earnings growth for the months to come.