Sensex up 23-pts at close, HDFC Bank zooms 6%

The Sensex opened marginally weak at 6,757 and inched lower to touch an early low of 6,737 on selective selling pressure. Though the market soon rebounded into the green, trading remained listless following steady gains in select counters.

The early noon trades saw the market sentiment firm up on strong buying in banking and tech stocks, which bolstered the gains of the index to an intra-day high of 6,795.

The Sensex, after moving in a range of 6,773-6,780 (up 15-20 pts), finally ended 23 points higher at 6,781. The Nifty added five points to close at 2,098.

While 19 Sensex stocks advanced, 11 declined today. Advancing shares accounted for a volume of 41 lakh for Rs 236.99 crore, and declining shares registered a volume of 43 lakh amounting to Rs 221.91 crore.

The market breadth ended positive on the BSE. Of 2,074 scrips traded - 1,130 advanced, 893 declined & 51 stocs remained unchanged.

HDFC Bank zoomed 6.47% (Rs 36) to Rs 589. While ICICI Bank soared 2.90% (Rs 11) to Rs 406, SBI was half a per cent up (Rs 3) at Rs 686.

Wipro advanced 2.38% (Rs 17) to Rs 732, on volumes of over 2.74 lakh. While Infosys, after a mixed outing, gained a per cent (Rs 17) to Rs 2,235, Satyam was up a notch at Rs 460. TCS, however, ended off-gains at Rs 1,277 - down Rs 3.

HDFC pared gains on profit-taking, but still ended 3.38% higher (Rs 26) at Rs 807, while Hindalco clocked a per cent gain (Rs 13) to Rs 1,093. Tisco, however, with volumes of over 12.10 lakh, tumbled 3% (Rs 10) to Rs 339.

HLL, which clocked a volume of over 4.70 lakh, dropped 2.74% (Rs 4) to Rs 143. While ITC slumped nearly 2% (Rs 31) to Rs 1,550, Reliance slipped a per cent (Rs 4) to Rs 548. ONGC also ended on a lower note at Rs 934 - down Rs 2. Over 17.2 lakh Reliance shares changed hands on the BSE.

Gujarat Ambuja gained 1.86% (Rs 8) to Rs 455, while other cement pivotals ended on a mixed note.

Ranbaxy lost 1.90% (Rs 21) to Rs 1,088. Other pharma counters were divergent.

Banking scrips were in the limelight, with the BSE Bankex index climbing 2.96% (up 114 pts) to close at 3,971. BoB mopped up 4.43% gains (Rs 9) to Rs 205, with Canara Bank ending 3.76% higher (Rs 7) at Rs 207. While PNB moved up 3.48% (Rs 14) to Rs 404, BOI added 3.26% (Rs 3) to Rs 106. OBC, Vijaya Bank, IOB and Andhra Bank rose between 2-3%.

FMCG major Williamson Tea dropped 4.36% (Rs 7) to Rs 147. Other FMCG majors Bata India, United Breweries, Satnam Overseas, McDowell and Shaw Wallace also ended at lower levels.