The Hindu Business Line : Techs, banking stocks make merry

IT was a good day at the bourses on Wednesday. After taking a breather on Tuesday, a public holiday, the bulls charged ahead lifting the Sensex more than 100 points to close at 8595.92.

The Nifty gained 24 points to close at 2582.75 points. Technology and banking stocks had a particularly good time at the party. Reliance, Infosys and ITC were among the index heavyweights that witnessed the strongest gains. Prominent losers were HDFC, BHEL and Ranbaxy.

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The Sensex is now about 2.5 per cent short of its all-time high of 8799 points, which it recorded in the beginning of October. The volatility witnessed during the recent trading sessions was absent on Wednesday, with the benchmark index staying in the positive territory throughout the day. The breadth of the market was positive with the number of stocks that advanced outpacing the number that declined.

Mid-cap stocks had a dull day but the same could not be said of small-cap stocks. The BSE SMLCAP gained as much as the Sensex. Stocks such as Timex, which put on almost 20 per cent, Zicom and El Forge were among the small-cap stocks that evinced strong investor interest.

There was not too much of stock-specific action. Prithvi Information Solutions made its debut on the bourses on Wednesday, listing on the NSE at Rs 338. This was 25 per cent higher than its offer price of Rs 270. It closed at Rs 282.60, up 4.6 per cent from the offer price.

The stock of Monsanto gained a smart 4 per cent to close at Rs 1817.90. The company has declared an interim dividend of Rs 120 per share, of which Rs 110 is a special dividend. The announcement came after market hours on Monday.

Banking stocks continued to find favour in the eyes of the investor. Andhra Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank and UTI Bank were prominent gainers. The BSE Bankex and the BSE IT Index were the outperformers for the day.

In other sectors, buying was more selective. In construction space, the stocks of Gammon India, IVRCL Infrastructure, Hindustan Construction and Madhucon Projects came to the fore, while Madras Cements was the prime gainer in the cement sector.

Among pharmaceutical stocks, Aventis Pharma, Matrix laboratories, Nicholas Piramal and Divi's Laboratories were the major gainers while the stocks of GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Lupin and Orchid Chemicals ended the day on a flat note.

In the engineering sector, mid-cap stocks lapped up all the attention. The stocks of Timken India, Opto Circuits, Esab India, Ador Welding, Veejay Lakshmi Engineering and Alstom Projects sprinted ahead of large-cap favourites such as ABB, BHEL and Bharat Earth Movers.

The shipping sector was among the unconventional plays that figured in the gainers' list. The stock of Varun Shipping spurted by 5 per cent, while the stocks of GE Shipping and Mercator Lines also made their presence felt, appreciating more than one per cent each.

The stock of Aegis Logistics put on a good 5 per cent; it has had a strong run over the past few trading sessions. The stock of Gati was another notable gainer while those of market favourites Gateway Distriparks and Blue Dart Express declined. Other stocks in the logistics sector such as Container Corporation and Transport Corporation of India met with a lukewarm response.

Retail stocks Pantaloon Retail, Trent and Liberty Shoes lost steam, although Shoppers' Stop ended the day in the positive territory. Other losers include Bajaj Auto Finance, Ramco Systems, Shree Cements, Morarjee Realties, KEC International, Raymond, Orient Abrasives, Kirloskar Brothers and Voltas.

GMM Pfaudler, Bharat Gears, Excel Cropcare, Deccan Chronicle, HCL Technologies and Super Sales were some of the other stocks that figured prominently in the gainers' list.

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