The bulls, despite some uncertain moments during the course of the day, had things going their way for the third successive session on the major Indian bourses today. Though US markets had closed on a mixed note after a choppy session last Friday, a firm trend on the Asian bourses aided the sentiment to an extent this morning.
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However, after opening with a strong positive gap, the market declined sharply into the red this morning. But then, it did not stay long in the negative zone as hectic buying in bank, FMCG and a few other blue chip stocks lifted it up into the positive territory in a flash.
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After moving in a volatile manner, the market did slip into the red again in early afternoon trade, but only for a short while. Frenzied buying at several front line counters saw the market gaining significant ground in the positive territory in late afternoon trade. A fairly good set of results from India Inc contributed to the buoyant mood this afternoon. Cipla, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, SAIL, LIC Housing Finance, Punjab Tractors, HDIL and Indian Bank reported a sharp surge in their quarterly earnings. A fairly steady trend on the European markets also aided the bulls in afternoon trade.
Though the market appeared a bit slippery at times due to some cautious moves by the investors ahead of the crucial trust vote in parliament, good corporate earnings, a few big order wins reported by some top notch companies and short-covering kept the market in the positive territory for a considerable length of time today.
So sharp were the gains posted by blue chip stocks that the Sensex signed off with a handsome gain of 214.64 points or 1.57% at 13,850.04 today. In intra-day trades, the barometer touched a low of 13,581.19 and a high of 13,878.88.
The Nifty, which swung in a range of around 95 points hit a high of 4168.15 and a low of 4072.75 in intra-day trades - closed with a gain of 67.25 points or 1.64% at 4159.50.
Bank and pharma stocks were among the biggest gainers today. Reflecting investor interest for stocks from these sectors, the Bankex and HC indices moved up by 3.88% and 3.03% respectively.
Realty stocks bounced back after a mild setback in morning trade and mirroring the gains posted by key stocks in that space, the BSE Realty index advanced by 2.44%. The Auto, FMCG, PSU and Power indices moved up by 1% - 1.75%. Select metal and oil stocks edged higher. IT stocks turned easy after a fairly good show early on. Capital goods stocks found support elusive.
Pharma majors Cipla and Ranbaxy Laboratories ended stronger by 5.2% and 4.75% respectively. HDFC Bank (4.8%), ICICI Bank (4.3%) and State Bank of India (3.7%) remained firm right through the session.
NTPC shot up by 4.7%. Maruti Suzuki gained nearly 4%. Hindustan Unilever (3.8%), Jaiprakash Associates (3.75%), Reliance Communications (2.65%), Tata Consultancy Services (2.35%) also ended with impressive gains.
Wipro, Reliance Industries, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, DLF, ONGC and Tata Steel gained 1% - 2%. Infosys Technologies, HDFC, ACC and Reliance Infrastructure finished with modest gains.
Satyam Computer Services slipped by over 4% to Rs 367.10 on sustained selling. Ambuja Cements, BHEL and Larsen & Toubro also closed with sharp losses. Bharti Airtel ended lower by 0.4%.
Nalco (8.05%) was the biggest gainer in the Nifty index. Power Grid Corporation rose by 5.65%. Hero Honda surged 5.65%. Sun Pharmaceuticals ended with a gain of 5.3%.
Punjab National Bank posted a gain of 4.2%. Idea Cellular, Tata Power, Siemens, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Tata Communications, Unitech and SAIL gained 1.5% - 4%. Sterlite Industries ended nearly a per cent up.
HCL Technologies, BPCL, GAIL India, Zee Entertainment, ABB and Suzlon Energy declined to lower levels on selling pressure.
Indian Bank zoomed 13.65% to Rs 101.80. Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Punjab National Bank gained 4.5% - 6.5%. Corporation Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, IDBI Bank, Central Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and Federal Bank also closed on a firm note today.
