Back Robust earnings season keeps market positive
Krishnan Thiagarajan
THE markets rallied for the second successive day, as the earnings season remained robust and international crude oil prices eased considerably. The BSE Sensex appreciated by 50.66 points (or 0.89 per cent) to close at 5754.76 points.
In the 30-share Sensitive Index, 25 stocks appreciated in value while only 5 logged declines and the markets remained buoyant right through the trading day. The Sensex opened for the day at 5713.24, which was also the low for the day, touched a high of 5765.14 points, before closing marginally lower for the day.
Among the sectoral indices, the outperformers during the day were BSE - FMCG, BSE-Consumer Durables, BSE- Oil and Gas and BSE - Healthcare. The sectors which lagged the broad indices were BSE - IT, BSE- Capital Goods, BSE- Metals and BSE - Bankex.
In the B1 and B2 category of stocks, 34 and 130 stocks hit the upper circuit, while only 1 and 16 stocks hit the lower circuit during the day's trading.
The S&P CNX Nifty also displayed a similar trend, with the index rising by 15.95 points (or 0.89 per cent) to close at 1813.70. Among the key gainers in the Nifty were VSNL (following the Tyco Global acquisition), Dabur, Glaxo India, ITC and Tata Power. The losers were Infosys Technologies, MTNL, Colgate, Cipla and Indian Hotels.
The Junior Nifty was also an uptrend, recording a gain of 0.94 per cent to close at 3540.05. The significant gainers were Aventis Pharma, Corporation Bank, Bank of India, TVS Motors, Vijaya Bank and Pfizer. The prominent losers were Moser Baer, MphasiS BFL, CMC, UTI Bank and Hughes Software.
Among the significant gainers (outside the index components) were a mix of telecom cable stocks - RPG Cables and Birla Ericsson Optical, small-sized software stocks - KLG Systel and Financial Technologies and a broad sprinkling from different sectors such as Lakshmi Precision Screws, Garware Wall Ropes, Ciba Speciality, Kojam Finvest and Aarti Industries.
There was heightened trading activity in the Lakshmi Precision Screws, with the stock hitting the 20 per cent ceiling to close at Rs 50.70. The stock gained Rs 8.45 during the day.
The trading volumes in the stock rose to 2 lakh shares during the day's trading from 1.03 lakh shares on Tuesday.
The average trading volumes in the counter have in the past been under 25,000 shares, indicating a massive spurt in activity in the stock.
Bucking the overall bearish trend in technology stocks as the US Presidential elections got underway, the KLG Systel stock appreciated by Rs 11.25 (or 19.98 per cent) to close the day at Rs 67.55.
Compared to 10,491 shares traded on Monday, the trading volumes in the stock shot up to 1.06 lakh shares.
Accompanied by robust trading volumes, the Garware Wall Ropes stock was another prominent gainer, with the stock appreciating by Rs 6.65 (or 19.90 per cent) to close at Rs 40.05. The trading volumes in the stock rose from 17,346 shares on Monday to 2.09 lakh shares during the day.
A host of technology stocks such as Infosys Technologies, Hughes Software, Moser Baer, Aztec Software, Tele Data Informatics and CMC figured among the prominent losers. Outside the technology stocks, the key losers were Venlon Polyesters, Satvahana Ispat, Asian Electronics and Tube Investments.
The Venlon Polyesters stock was among the major losers, with the stock declining by Rs 2.15 to settle at Rs 13.75. Compared to 12,302 shares traded on Monday, the trading volumes rose to 16,290 shares during the day.
Reflecting to some extent, the poor performance logged by Moser Baer in the second quarter ended September 30, the Moser Baer stock declined by Rs 3.50 to close at Rs 194.65. The trading volumes in the stock, however, declined from 3.4 lakh on Monday's trading to 1.20 lakh shares during the day.
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