Street sees power drive

Fuel price hike pushes up oil stocks by over 11 per cent.

Power, real estate, capital goods and oil and gas indices gained over 7 per cent each and led the Sensex rally on Thursday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) Sensex recorded the third highest single-day gain of 817.49 points during the current calendar year, taking the index from 16,949.14 on Wednesday to 17,766.63 points on Thursday. 

GAINING GROUND
(In Rs)	Feb-13	Feb-14	%chg
Neyveli Lignite	134.75	152.44	13.13
JP Hydro-Power	67.40	75.55	12.09
Reliance Energy	1558.10	1708.15	9.63
Power Grid Corp	94.75	103.00	8.71
Torrent Power	136.50	146.50	7.33
NTPC	187.90	200.75	6.84
CESC	502.80	535.10	6.42
Reliance Power	351.40	370.05	5.31

The power index was the highest gainer in percentage terms, appreciating by 8.14 per cent in a single day. Power Finance Corporation, was the top gainer, up by 22.5 per cent from Rs 150.80 to Rs 184.75 on BSE.

Neyveli Lignite (13.13 per cent), BHEL (12.63 per cent), GMR Infrastructure (12.42 per cent) and Crompton Greaves (10 per cent) were among the largest gainers, rising by more than 10 per cent each.

The realty index, which was the second largest gainer, appreciated by 7.58 per cent to 10,143.55 (9,428.89).

Unitech, Indiabulls Real Estate, Omaxe and Mahindra Lifespace gained over 8 per cent each on BSE. DLF, which won the title sponsorship rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), gained 6.12 per cent to close at Rs 864.85 (Rs 815).

The government's decision to hike petrol and diesel prices fuelled the rise in oil marketing stocks. The BSE Oil and Gas Index appreciated by 7.42 per cent from 10,176.98 to 10,932.36. Essar Oil, HPCL, IOC, Reliance Petroleum, RNRL and BPCL gained more than 11 per cent each.

The BSE Capital Goods Index, which was the largest gainer in absolute terms, rose by over 1,000 points. The index gained 7.53 per cent or 1,140.36 points from 15,141.81 on Wednesday to close at 16,282.17 on Thursday.

Punj Lloyd was among the top gainer, appreciating by 10.52 per cent from Rs 331.60 to Rs 366.50 on BSE. The company was on Thursday awarded Rs 1,119 crore construction contract by Singapore-based Marina Bay Sands.

Larsen & Toubro secured an order valued at Rs 311 crore from Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation. The stock gained by 7.03 per cent to Rs 3,507.15 (Rs 3,276.70).

The consumer durables index (6.75 per cent) and metal index (5.74 per cent) gained over 5 per cent each, while the information technology (IT) index, automobiles, FMCG and healthcare indices underperformed the Sensex, gaining less than 5 per cent each.

The BSE Mid-Cap Index, which was the largest gainer among the broader indices, rose by 5.33 per cent on Thursday.