The market seemed to be shrugging off broad war concerns today at least, as players reckoned that corporate results for Q4 ended 31 March 2003 will turn out an improvement over previous quarters at least.
Around mid-morning today, renewed buying interest in select Old and New Economy stocks propelled the market further into the black. Heavyweights like Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and Hindustan Lever contributed to the gains of the market as well, after a subdued opening. A selective recovery was seen in stocks in general after a recent fall . A number of stocks, which touched their 52-week lows either on Monday or Tuesday morning, rose as bargain hunters stepped in.
Even so, the undertone of the market appeared cautious as yet, what with it becoming increasingly clear that the US-Iraq war will be prolonged, as Iraq puts up stiff resistance to the initial assault by coalition forces.
By 11:15 IST, the BSE Sensex was trading higher by 21.19 points at 3,069.91, having recovered from a low of 3,037.54 touched in early trades. The NSE S & P CNX Nifty Index was up 6.95 points at 985.15.
Motorcycles major Hero Honda (up 2.89% to Rs 193.85) was the subject of some relief following a recent precipitation . The stock of the bikes major touched its 52-week low of Rs 187 on Monday on massive selling pressure from operators as well as institutions.
The company announced that its sales for the year ended 31 March 2003 have crossed the Rs 5,000-crore-mark, which is higher than the Rs 4,539.49 crore achieved in FY 2001-02. The detailed financial figure will be announced post the board meeting in April 2003. The company finished the year with total motorcycles sales of 1.677 million; an increase of 18% over last year's sales of 1.425 million units.
Tech pivotals HCL Tech (up 2.44% to Rs 155.25), Infosys Tech (up 1.29% to Rs 4,092) and Satyam Computer (up 1.05% to Rs 178.80) advanced on bargain hunting.
Heavyweights corporate No. 1 Reliance Industries (up 1.65% to Rs 281), largest bank State Bank of India (up 0.96% to Rs 272.50) and FMCG behemoth Hindustan Lever (up 0.64% to Rs 148.90) also contributed to the gains of the Sensex.
Largest private sector steel maker Tata Steel (up 1.31% to Rs 135.50) rose on reports that the Tata group flagship will increase product prices from 1 May 2003, unlike other steel majors who are planning to cut prices from today. According to reports, the company is likely to raise prices by just under Rs 500 per tonne.
Other Old Economy pivotals Gujarat Ambuja Cements (up 1.97% to Rs 162.90), Telco (up 0.93% to Rs 157.10), Hindalco (up 0.84% to Rs 539), Bhel (up 0.58% to Rs 224.70) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.51% to Rs 482) were all upstream.
Export-focused drugs maker Ranbaxy Labs (up 0.86% to Rs 629.75) edged up after the company announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to market Flecainide Acetate Tablets USP, in 50 mg, 100 mg, and 150 mg strengths.
Largest media listing Zee Telefilms (up 0.48% to Rs 62.80) reversed a recent downslide. It also recovered from the day's low of Rs 60.60 on bargain hunting.
Housing finance major HDFC (down 2.62% to Rs 323) was trading off lows.
Other pivotals Grasim (down 0.97% to Rs 327.50), HPCL (down 0.59% to Rs 292.60), Dr Reddy's Labs (down 0.73% to Rs 910.05), Colgate Palmolive (down 0.41% to Rs 121), ITC (down 0.29% to Rs 627.70) and ACC (down 0.18% to Rs 138.25) were trading in the red.
Nucleus Software (up 9.69% to Rs 71.90) soared on renewed buying interest after a recent fall from the higher levels. Only 50 Nucleus Software shares were traded on BSE so far.
Infotech Enterprises (up 5.88% to Rs 94.50) spurted after the stock touched its 52-week low of Rs 86.75. Over 1.30 lakh Infotech shares were traded on BSE so far.
Other second line tech stocks PSI Data Systems (up 5.79% to Rs 42.95), Ramco Systems (up 4.78% to Rs 469), VisualSoft (up 3.70% to Rs 144.50), Hinduja TMT (up 3.35% to Rs 160.45), KPIT Info (up 3.39% to Rs 144.90), SSI (up 3.18% to Rs 56.75), Hexaware (up 2.64% to Rs 107.10), Rolta India (up 2.73% to Rs 52.65), Mastek (up 2.37% to Rs 522.70), Sonata Soft (up 2.47% to Rs 12.45), Geometric Software (up 2.57% to Rs 440.25), Subex Systems (up 2.83% to Rs 89), HCL Info (up 1.94% to Rs 81.55), Tata Elxsi (up 2.06% to Rs 66.90), Tata Infotech (up 1.51% to Rs 155) and CMC (up 0.41% to Rs 497) made modest-to-strong gains after Monday's sell-off.
Blue Star Info (down 3.73% to Rs 107) dropped as selling pressure continued on the counter.
Other tech stocks Geodesic Info (down 2.07% to Rs 71), MphasiS BFL (down 1.40% to Rs 644.15) and e-Serve Int'l (down 1.22% to Rs 450.05) were trading lower .
Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2.56% to Rs 162) rose on renewed buying interest after Monday's correction.
Other banking sector stocks Dena Bank (up 2.12% to Rs 12.05), Canara Bank (up 2.11% to Rs 72.70), Vysya Bank (up 2.07% to Rs 242), Oriental Bank of Commerce (up 1.80% to Rs 65.20), Andhra Bank (up 1.69% to Rs 27.05), Federal Bank (up 1.51% to Rs 94), Karnataka Bank (up 0.85% to Rs 53.40), Corporation Bank (up 0.53% to Rs 132.65) and Bank of India (up 0.26% to Rs 38) made modest headway.
Banking stocks have been moving up in an otherwise subdued market on a combination of factors. While the passing of the Securitisation Act has helped banks to collect debt easily, huge bond trading profits are expected after a steep fall in yields and a proposal from the government which is expected to help banks write off more bad loans.
Punjab National Bank (down 3.14% to Rs 98.65) slipped further after recent gains. Over 4 lakh PNB shares were traded on BSE so far.
Others like J & K Bank (down 0.44% to Rs 113.45), Union Bank (down 0.40% to Rs 25.05), UTI Bank (down 0.37% to Rs 40), Bank of Baroda (down 0.35% to Rs 85.60) and South Indian Bank (down 0.28% to Rs 35.70) were trading lower on selling pressure.
Source: Capital Market