Sensex gains 248 pts as IT stks end on a high, Results

Sensex gains 248 pts; IT stocks end on a high note

The market had some positive triggers today. First, a fairly steady trend on the Asian bourses gave the participants something to cheer about. Information technology, metal and FMCG stocks rallied higher on strong buying support and the Sensex moved past 10,300 in morning trade.
Stockometer
And then, when the market appeared to be losing steam, Reserve Bank of India cut repo rate by 100 basis points to 8%. This time, stocks cutting across sectors vaulted higher and lifted the Sensex past 10,500 to a high of 10,538.05. However, amid high volatility, the Sensex gave up its gains and very nearly slipped into the red in mid afternoon trade before it rallied again on some strong buying in the final hour.
Top gainers
Finally, the BSE barometer ended the session at 10,223.09, up 247.74 points or 2.48% over its previous closing mark. The Nifty, which tumbled into the negative territory to 3058.05 from a high of 3238.40, settled at 3122.80 with a sharp gain of 48.45 points or 1.58%.
Worst losers
IT stocks were the favoured ones today. Mirroring the sharp rise in prices of key stocks in that space, the BSE IT shot up by over 8%. Sector heavyweights Infosys Technologies (up nearly 8%), Tata Consultancy Services (9.5%), Wipro (8.95%) and Satyam Computer Services (8.7%) closed with strong gains.
HDFC Bank (5.95%), ICICI Bank (4.95%), HDFC (5.75%), Bharti Airtel (4.65%), ITC (4.1%), Maruti Suzuki (2.7%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (2.15%), Hindalco (1.95%), Tata Steel (1.75%), State Bank of India (1.45%), Jaiprakash Associates (1.45%), Reliance Industries (1.25%) and NTPC (1.2%) ended on a firm note. ONGC gained around half a per cent. Tata Motors finished with a marginal gain.
BHEL went down by 8.2% to Rs 1096.40 on fears of a fall in revenues to high raw material costs. Grasim Industries lost nearly 8%. DLF ended lower by 6.4%. ACC declined 6.1%. Mahindra & Mahindra eased by 5.35%. Tata Power (down 3.7%) and Reliance Infrastructure (down 1.85%) also declined sharply. Reliance Communications, Hindustan Unilever and Sterlite Industries also ended weak, albeit with less pronounced losses.
Nifty stock HCL Technologies spurted nearly 9%. Sun Pharmaceuticals, SAIL and Tata Communications gained 6.5% - 6.75%. Cairn India and Siemens moved up by around 5.4%. ABB, Reliance Power, Punjab National Bank and Power Grid Corporation also closed on a positive note.
Unitech, Ambuja Cements, Zee Entertainment, Cipla, GAIL India, Reliance Petroleum, Idea Cellular, Suzlon energy and Hero Honda ended with sharp losses today.
United Spirits, the biggest gainer among BSE 'A' Group stocks, ended stronger by 12.9%. Rolta India, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Reliance Capital, Indian Bank, Pantaloon Retail, IVRCL Infrastructure, RECL, Tech Mahindra, India Bulls Real Estate and MphasiS closed on a high note.
Though not much buying was seen in midcap and smallcap segments, a select few managed to close on a firm note today. FSL, Shaw Wallace, Geodesic, Torrent Pharma, Shree Precoated Steel, SKF India, Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals, Dishman Pharma, Madras Cements, Bajaj Holdings, MindTree, Gammon India, Asian Star, Nagarjuna Construction Company and Dena Bank were among the prominent gainers in the midcap index.
The market breadth was negative right through the session today. Out of 2616 stocks seen in action on the BSE, 1643 stocks closed in the negative territory. 920 stocks posted gains and 53 stocks ended flat.
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