Value picks prop

STOCKS REPORT

Technology and oil counters were among the biggest gainers on Thursday, while metal and consumer durable scrips were among the major losers as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at 5,713.10, gaining 0.64 per cent (36.37 points) from Tuesday's close.

Moving on either sides of the break-even, the Sensex hit an intra-day high of 5,738.61 and a low of 5,645.66. Blue chips had a mixed day, with 16 out of the 30 Sensex stocks closing lower.

The broader market reflected the mixed sentiment, with losers outpacing gainers in the 804:773 on the BSE.

Brokers said value buying at lower levels led to the bounce back on Thursday but metal stocks fell on worries of weakening global commodity prices.

Though the market opened weak, led by the a sharp fall in metal and cement stocks, buying in technology scrips helped the bourses recover to post gains in afternoon trades.

Players said investors were enthused by the robust quarterly earnings from Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies which saw good buying interest on Thursday.

Metal stocks remained under pressure a day after prices on the London Metal Exchange crashed from multi-year highs in a frenzied sell-off by funds, brokers said.

The BSE IT Index was the biggest gainer, up 4.78 per cent, followed by the BSE TECk Index up 3.83 per cent, BSE Oil&Gas Index up 1.26 per cent and BSE FMCG Index gained 0.65 per cent.

The BSE Metal Index was the biggest loser, down 4.68 per cent, followed by the consumer durables index, down 1.26 per cent and the BSE Bankex fell 0.54 per cent.

Infosys was the biggest gainer on Thursday, up 6.04 per cent to Rs 1,815.70, Wipro gained 5.35 per cent to Rs 659.95, Satyam Computer up 4.53 per cent to Rs 406.45, Larsen & Toubro gained 1.79 per cent to Rs 851 and Zee Telefilms was up 1.71 per cent to Rs 157.45.

Hindalco was the biggest loser, down 6.87 per cent to Rs 1,237.10, followed by HDFC, down 5.16 per cent to Rs 654.45, Tata Steel fell 3.38 per cent to Rs 284.40, Bharti Tele-Ventures was down 2.24 per cent to Rs 148.30 and BHEL was down 1.83 per cent to Rs 611.50.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 66.30 crore, while domestic mutual funds were net sellers to the tune of Rs 137.70 crore on Monday.