The Hindu Business Line : Index heavyweights pull Sensex to positive territory

Sensex opened at 5193.25 points, about 23 points higher than last week's closing. The index registered mild volatility as it moved within a narrow range of 43 points, the day's low being 5167.29 points and the day's high being 5210.92 points.

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Barring BSE TECk, most of the indices closed the day on a positive note. On the NSE, the S&P CNX Nifty rose by 6.75 points (0.41 per cent) to 1639.05 points. Trading volumes on the NSE, however, remained lacklustre as 21.8 crore shares were traded on Monday as against 32.4 crore shares traded on last Friday.

On the BSE, of the total 1,910 stocks that were traded, 861 gained in value, 968 registered losses and the rest remained unchanged. On the Sensex, about 18 stocks advanced and the rest declined.

The key index heavyweights of the Sensex witnessed robust buying interest. Coupled with large trading volumes the stock of Reliance Industries rose by 1.1 per cent to Rs 494.15. The stock of ICICI Bank also rose by 3.3 per cent to Rs 275.70. The stocks of Hindustan Lever and ONGC were also among the gainers list.

Stocks that witnessed sharp gains include Hindustan Oil Exploration, Gujarat NRE Coke, Hindustan Organic Chemicals, Mangalam Cement, JK Corp, Neyveli Lignite, Jindal Iron & Steel and Bajaj Hindustan.

Stocks & news: Man Industries has bagged orders worth Rs 502 crore, of which Rs 340 crore worth of orders are from export markets. The orders are to be executed by March 2005. The stock rose 11.9 per cent to Rs 100.95.

Maruti Udyog has registered 4 per cent growth in total vehicle sales in July 2004, over July 2003. The sales of Maruti 800, the company's bread-and-butter model, however, fell by 41.7 per cent. The stock declined 0.3 per cent to Rs 423.35.

Triggered by the increase in sales of entry-level 100cc motorcycle `CD Dawn', Hero Honda posted a 44 per cent growth in total vehicle sales during July 2004, over July 2003. The stock rose 2.1 per cent to Rs 438.05.

Moser Baer India's net profit declined by 22 per cent to Rs 48.1 crore during the quarter ending June 2004, from the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company's revenue also fell by 2.3 per cent to Rs 312.8 crore. The company, however, expects its revenue to grow at a CAGR of 25 to 35 per cent over the next three years. The Company also plans to spend US$135 million in FY'05 to increase its capacity to 2.4 billion units. The stock fell by 4.7 per cent to Rs 180.4.

The stock of Suven Life Sciences also fell by 10.9 per cent to Rs 53.8, after its earnings during the quarter ending June 2004, fell by 57 per cent to Rs 1 crore, from the corresponding period of the previous year.

The net profit of Siemens, during the quarter ending June 2004, grew over 100 per cent to Rs 35.6 crore over the same period in 2003. The stock rose 3.7 per cent to Rs 943.1.

After the close of the day's trading, Zandu Pharma announced it plans an issue of bonus shares. The stock rose 4.4 per cent to Rs 2,650.

Gujarat Petrosynthese plans to buyback shares up to 25 per cent of its paid up capital. The stock fell by 17.3 per cent to Rs 10.75. ICI India plans to invest Rs 800 crore for acquisition and expansion of its core business areas of paints and specialty chemicals. The stock rose by 3.2 per cent to Rs 168.9.

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Index heavyweights pull Sensex to positive territory