Techs save the blushes

STOCKS REPORT

Technology scrips were in the limelight yesterday as the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed in the positive territory.

Investors bought technology, consumer durables, auto and metal scrips, which were among the biggest gainers on Friday. In the BSE Sensex basket, 24 out of the 30 scrips closed higher. The breadth of the market was even with gainers more or less matching the number of losers.

A dealer from ICICI Securities said that relief buying was seen yesterday after the last few sessions of lacklustre trading.

"Some institutional activity is being seen but most of the players are waiting for the Union Budget before taking big calls."

Brokers said that technology counters were in the focus following gains in Indian technology ADRs on Thursday.

The BSE Sensex hit a high of 6,640.29 and a low of 6,594.32 in intra-day trades, before closing at 6,633.76, up 55.93 points (0.85 per cent) from Thursday's close. Volumes were higher than on Thursday in the cash segment of the bourses; the BSE reported a turnover of Rs 2,671.46 crore and the NSE reported a turnover of Rs 5,143.70 crore.

Maruti Udyog was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, rising 3.60 per cent to close at Rs 498.35, followed by Hero Honda, up 3.59 per cent to Rs 550.35, Infosys Technologies was up 2.90 per cent to Rs 2,103.30, Satyam Computer gained 1.98 per cent to Rs 410.35 and Tata Power was up 1.95 per cent to Rs 409.60.

HPCL was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, down 0.98 per cent to close at Rs 373.80, HDFC fell 0.82 per cent to Rs 784.40, HDFC Bank was down 0.74 per cent to Rs 574.65, L&T fell 0.57 per cent to Rs 991.75 and Gujarat Ambuja Cement was down 0.42 per cent to Rs 451.50.

Strong buying support from foreign funds in the last few sessions has helped the market record a strong rally but the undertone of the market appeared cautious, brokers said.

A lack of active domestic participation has also raised concerns among market players, they added. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 40.40 crore on Thursday as per data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India website.