Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Mar 27, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Mar 27, 2003 |
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Markets
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Commentary Columns - Sensor Select bank stocks up in cautious mood C. Raja Rajeshwari
CAUTION was the key word on Wednesday's trading session with the markets remaining wary of the impact of a US-Iraq war. Following the overnight gains in the US markets, tech stocks opened higher but declined later on selling pressure. The benchmark indices closed flat after a range-bound trading and losers outpaced gainers in a ratio of 2:1. The BSE Sensex rallied to intra-day high of 3165.38 after which it declined to close at 3143.58 and netted a gain of 3.16 points over Tuesday's close of 3140.36. The Nifty crawled up to end higher by 2.55 points at 1013.85. Stocks, which constituted both the Sensex and the Nifty such as Reliance, Infosys Technolgies, Satyam Computer, ICICI Bank, Zee Telefilms, Hindalco, Tata Engg, Glaxo, Grasim, BSES, L&T, Colgate, Castrol, M&M, Tata Steel, NIIT and Dr Reddy's closed with losses causing the damages to the indices. Traded volumes were up by 23 per cent to 7.4 crore shares. Heightened activity was witnessed in the futures & options segment with the fast approaching expiry of the March contracts. Volumes went up owing to the trading interest in the index futures but declined marginally in index options and individual futures and options as compared to Tuesday's volumes. The April and May Nifty futures were quoting at premium to the spot. SBI rallied to close higher at Rs 281.50 after the PSU bank informed the BSE that it has recovered Rs 6.9 crore (to be accounted in the year 2002-2003) in respect of legal cases filed in 1991-92. Corporation Bank unveiled 33 new service outlets in the premises of LIC, comprising branches, extension counters and ATMs. The stock reacted positively to the new initiative as it rose 1.54 per cent to close at Rs 135.05. Other bank stocks that shone in the dull market were IDBI Bank (5.85 per cent higher to close at 21.70), Federal Bank (up 1.71 per cent to close at Rs 95.10) and IndusInd Bank (1.57 per cent to end higher at Rs 16.15). FMCG stocks such as HLL, Nestle, Tata Tea and ITC closed with marginal gains. Some telecom stocks rallied to close with appreciations. Bharti Tele rose 3.72 per cent to close at Rs 29.30, MTNL by 3.39 per cent at Rs 95.95 and VSNL appreciated by 1.17 per cent to end at Rs 78.10. Despite the staff strike over the privatisation in BPCL and HPCL, investors' sentiment was not dampened. Both these stocks closed with solid gains. Syngenta India closed with gains after the company announced Rs 14.22 crore profits during the third quarter ending December 2002. Divi's Laboratories continued its upward trend hitting a new high of Rs 232.40 but declined to close at Rs 219.10. Notable Stocks that hit their new 52-week lows were Dabur India, Bata India, Silverline Technologies, Escorts, Kinetic Motors, Fulford, DSQ Software and Tata Teleservices.
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