Friday 14 September, 2007

Markets reverse course, end flat

The markets ended flat after trading firm for most part of the day with the benchmark index closing flat at 15,603 levels.

The Sensex touched a high of 15,824 levels in intra-day deals. In broader markets, the Nifty touched a high of 4,582 levels before settling at 4,518 levels.

In world markets, Japanese stocks rose sharply Friday fueled by Wall Street`s climb overnight and a generally weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index moved up 306 points or 1.94 per cent to 16,127 levels on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Dow rose 133 points or a per cent to 13,424 levels on Thursday on strong gains by blue chip companies.

Back home, leading the pack of losers at the Sensex was NTPC. The counter slipped 3.3 per cent by close of trading session. Maruti Udyog, ACC, Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Communication also lost ground.

"Positive news flow and liquidity should take markets higher in the days to come," said Ashu Kakkar, Technical Analyst, Skypowerfinancialservices.com.

However, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, ITC Limited, HDFC, Reliance Industries, Hindalco and Ambuja Cements managed to stay afloat.

Building gains

Among sectoral indices, the BSE realty index was the top gainer that firmed up 1.6 per cent or 125 points. Key gainers included Ansal API, DLF Limited, Akruti Nirman, Mahindra Gesco, HDIL, Anant Raj Industries, Unitech, Sobha Developers and Indiabulls Real Estate.

Karnataka Bank, Bank of Baroda and Kotak Mahindra Bank ended firm in the banking pack besides ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.

Metal scrips found fresh investor interest on Friday. Ispat Industries (up 5.3 per cent), Sterlite Industries (up 2.8 per cent), Jindal Saw (up 2.5 per cent), Bhushan Steel (up 2 per cent) and Maharashtra Seamless (up 1.3 per cent) logged gains in the metal space.

Autos skid

Among PSU counters, BRPL at Rs 57 was the biggest loser that slipped 4.6 per cent by close. Hindustan Organic Chemicals, HMT Limited, Rashtriya Chemicals, ITI Limited and MRPL ended in negative turf.

Selling was also rampant in auto counters. TVS Motor (down 4.6 per cent), Escorts (down 3.9 per cent), Cummins India (down 3.4 per cent), Maruti Udyog (down 2.9 per cent) and Hindustan Motors (down 2.7 per cent) were some of the key losers.

Surging crude oil prices cast a shadow on oil and gas scrips on Friday. MRPL, Chennai Petroleum, BPCL, HPCL, IOC, and ONGC ended the day weak.

source ndtv.com