The Hindu Business Line : FMCG, metals shine as Sensex scales another peak

The markets began the week on a positive note, buoyed by buying interest in the FMCG and metals sector. The Sensex rose to its new high led by index heavyweights such as Reliance and Hindustan Lever.

Action in mid-cap and small-cap stocks gathered pace. The breadth of the markets, however, was not too deep, with just a little over half the stocks traded on the BSE recording an advance. Foreign investors were net buyers on Monday.

Sector themes

Stocks of consumer product manufacturers gained smartly. With the return of pricing power, leading FMCG players such as Hindustan Lever, Godrej Consumer and Nestle have been able to resort to price hikes to combat input pressure.

The stock of Hindustan Lever gained close to 5 per cent. The company's September quarter results lived up to market expectations.

Leading international brokerage house Morgan Stanley recently raised its price target on the stock.

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Other stocks that gained include Colgate, Godrej Consumer, Marico and Nirma.

Select pharmaceutical stocks evinced healthy buying interest. Cadila Healthcare was a rare gainer, shooting up 5 per cent. Cipla gained nearly 2 per cent after it announced that it had received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for selling a drug that treats sleep disorders.

GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Novartis and Orchid Chemicals were the other stocks that gained.

Metals rally

Stocks from the metal pack also rallied. The sector has been witnessing resurgent investor interest following a good set of results in the September quarter. Hindustan Zinc gained after it raised prices for a second time this month. JSW Steel, Jindal Steel, Tata Steel and Sterlite were other prominent gainers.

Fine show

Media stocks put on a fine show. The stocks of Television Eighteen, Balaji Telefilms, Saregama India and UTV Software were in the limelight, gaining about 10 per cent each. The stock of Sri Adhikari Bros also figured in the investors' radar.

Oil stocks shed value on the prospect that refiners may be asked to lower prices in line with the decline of international crude prices. The stock of HPCL dropped close to 4 per cent. BPCL and IOC also declined.

Buzzing stocks

Mid-cap and small-cap stocks were active on Monday. Stocks that made a buzz include Godawari Power and India Infoline, which jumped 20 per cent each. Cambridge Solutions (formerly Scandent), Ucal Fuel Systems, Aban Offshore, Hindustan Oil Exploration, Plethico Pharma, and IL&FS Investsmart were other stocks that witnessed heavy buying interest.

Stock-specific action

Williamson Magor has entered into a joint venture with D1 Oils Trading, UK, and Williamson Magor Bio Fuels for development of jatropha oil seeds for the manufacture of bio fuel. The stock surged 10 per cent, ending the day at Rs 62.65.

Indiabulls Financial Services announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Indiabulls Infrastructure Development has received an "in-principle" approval for the development of a Special Economic Zone in Maharashtra. The stock gained Rs 15 or 2.5 per cent. Hexaware Technologies gained 4.4 per cent. The company announced after market hours that it has acquired a US-based testing consulting firm for about $35 million in an all-cash deal. Solectron Centum soared 10 per cent to close at Rs 207.60. The company is to de-merge its services division into a separate company.