The Sensex opened eight points higher at 4,643, and displayed positive trends through the session. After moving with decent gains till early noon deals, the markets rallied sharply in the mid-afternoon deals on renewed buying support in pharma, cement and other select old and new economy stocks, and edged past the 4,700 levels.
The Sensex, after spurting to a high of 4,710, pared gains towards the closing hours on selling in selective stocks, and finally ended 64 points higher at 4,699. The Nifty also notched up 25 points gains to close at 1,504.
While 22 Sensex stocks advanced, eight declined today. The volume and value of shares traded totalled 2.54 crore and Rs 970.33 crore, respectively.
ITC firmed up in mid-noon deals, and jumped 4% (Rs 37) to Rs 881. HLL also ended in positive territory at Rs 188 - up Rs 2. Reliance, however, ended on a subdued note at Rs 455 - down Rs 2. The counter clocked a volume of more than 29.42 lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 133 crore.
SBI at Rs 480 (up Rs 6) and MTNL at Rs 124 (up Rs 5 or 4%) ended in the gainers list on decent buying support. SBI registered a volume of more than 17.44 lakh on the BSE with value at Rs 83 crore. BHEL closed up a tad at Rs 426. HPCL lost ground since opening deals, and ended nearly 2% lower (Rs 6) at Rs 349.
Dr. Reddy's mopped up huge gains in mid-afternoon session, and notched up 4% gains (Rs 50) to Rs 1,192. While Ranbaxy gained nearly 2% (Rs 16) to Rs 1,002, Cipla added Rs 6 to Rs 1,061. Glaxo closed up a rupee at Rs 470.
Grasim, on relentless buying support, ended on a buoyant note at Rs 727 - up Rs 43 or 6%. While L&T shot up 3% (Rs 10) to Rs 360, Gujarat Ambuja gained 2% (Rs 4) to Rs 246. ACC, however, remained weak through the session, and dropped 3% (Rs 7) to Rs 206.
HCL Tech ended up a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 188. Infosys pared gains on profit-taking and closed up a per cent (Rs 41) at Rs 4,434. Satyam, however, slipped from higher levels, and ended down a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 256.
Tata Motors, on a late bout of buying, shot up 2% (Rs 9) to Rs 358. The auto major registered a volume of over 22.92 lakh on the BSE with value at Rs 80 crore. Bajaj at Rs 853 (up Rs 4) ended in the gainers list. Hero Honda, after a mixed outing, closed down a rupee at Rs 323.
Hindalco continued its rally for a second consecutive day, and shot up 4% (Rs 41) to Rs 1,059. BSES (up 3% or Rs 12 to Rs 422), HDFC (up Rs 7 to Rs 534), Tisco (up Rs 7 or 2% to Rs 311) and Zee (up Rs 4 or 3% to Rs 134) ended with sharp gains. ICICI Bank also ended in the green at Rs 227 - up Rs 3. More than 39.25 lakh Tisco shares changed hands on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 121 crore. Zee accounted for more than 18.36 lakh shares on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 24 crore.
UCO Bank, which made its debut on the BSE today, touched an intra-day high of Rs 20, but erased its gains to end flat at Rs 19.50. However, the volumes surged more than 2.16 crore on the BSE, with a turnover of Rs 42 crore.
BoI advanced 5% (Rs 3) to Rs 59, on the back of a huge volume of more than 20.27 lakh on the BSE with value at Rs 11 crore. BoB rose 2% (Rs 4) to Rs 171, with volume soaring more than 16 lakh on the BSE. While Kotak Bank advanced 5% (Rs 15) to Rs 319, Federal Bank notched up 4% gains (Rs 7) to Rs 168. Canara Bank closed up a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 138. Vijaya Bank, however, dropped 4% to Rs 31. PNB ended marginally lower at Rs 198. J&K Bank also ended in the losers list at Rs 263 - down Rs 4.
Mphasis BFL, which reported a 79% increase in net profit at Rs 27.27 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2003, slipped from an intra-day high of Rs 545 on selling pressure, and ended up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 493.
Wipro ended with a gain of 2% (Rs 24) at Rs 1,243 on the back of a volume of more than two lakh on the BSE with value at Rs 37 crore. Hughes, too, moved up 2% (Rs 7) to Rs 386. i-flex and Mastek ended marginally higher each at Rs 752 and Rs 250, respectively. HCL Infosys lost 2% (Rs 7) to Rs 354. Digital closed down a tad at Rs 517.
IBP shed 3% (Rs 26) to Rs 813. While BPCL closed down a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 361, IOC closed down a tad at Rs 384. ONGC, however, ended with marginal gains at Rs 629.
RCF shot up 12% (Rs 4) to Rs 34 on sustained buying support. While STC dropped 11% (Rs 15) to Rs 124, EIL lost 3% (Rs 13) to Rs 353. SCI was down 2% at Rs 121.