Back Reliance propels Sensex
B. Krishnakumar
THOUGH the torrential rain that lashed Mumbai affected the business volume, it did not have any impact on the market sentiment. The benchmark indices closed on a positive note for the fourth day in succession.
Helped by the better than expected market quarterly performance of index heavyweight Reliance Industries, the BSE Sensex logged a 56-point gain to close above the 7,600 mark.
The S&P CNX Nifty ended the day at 2303.15, up 16 points over Tuesday's close. Along with Reliance, the rally in stocks such as ICICI Bank, Satyam, Wipro and TCS helped the index close in the positive territory.
After some hectic activity on Tuesday, a few stocks from the banking sector surrendered a portion of their gains during Wednesday's trading.
Companies such as Syndicate Bank, Andhra Bank, and UTI Bank lost ground during the day. The share price of Andhra Bank dropped Rs 5.35 at Rs 108.1.
State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, however, posted sharp gains.
From the mid-cap space, the likes of Havells India, Exide Industries and Deccan Chronicle managed to log sharp gains during the day.
Exide shot up by Rs.24.2 on reports that the company has acquired a stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Company.
The list of losers includes Bharat Seats, HMT, Hindustan Oil Exploration and ITI. A sharp run-up in price over the past few weeks is a common thread running across these stocks.
The share price of Hindustan Oil for instance, dropped by Rs 13 on Wednesday; it has posted a 78 per cent jump since April 1.
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