The market was all set for another positive opening today and one of the major triggers was the successful Maruti IPO that gave PSU stocks the desired push. There was also broad buying interest in Old and New Economy stocks, perhaps, on carry-over from yesterday's upbeat climate.
As a result, the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index opened with a positive gap of 5.35 points at 3,342.65. By 10:30 IST, the Sensex was trading 12.01 points higher at 3,349.31. The NSE S & P CNX Nifty Index was up 4.55 points at 1,055.50.
PSU pivotals MTNL (up 1.81% to Rs 101.40), Bhel (up 0.81% to Rs 268.45) and HPCL (up 0.50% to Rs 313.25) made positive headway on hopes that the success of the Maruti IPO should vindicate the government's privatisation drive.
Heavyweights diversified corporate sector giant Reliance Industries (up 1.62% to Rs 312.70), leading cigarettes play ITC (up 1.21% to Rs 721.25) and largest bank by assets State Bank of India (up 0.28% to Rs 352.50) contributed to the gains of the Sensex.
Tech pivotals HCL Tech (up 0.10% to Rs 147.50), Infosys Tech (up 0.06% to Rs 2,973.25) and Satyam Computer (up 0.05% to Rs 186.25) were barely trading in positive zone after US markets inched up on Thursday.
While the Dow Jones industrial average gained 13.33 points to end at 9,196.55, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 7.60 points to 1,653.62.
Reliance group power utility BSES (down 1.70% to Rs 266) eased a bit on profit booking.
A V Birla group aluminium major Hindalco (down 1.11% to Rs 710) and two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto (down 1.07% to Rs 538.60) slipped on profit booking after Thursday's gains.
SQL Star Int'l (Rs 12.45) was frozen at the 20% upper limit of the circuit breaker for the third straight session after the company said that it has bagged an "E-Agricultural Marketing " project on a Build -Own-Operate (BOO) basis, worth Rs 80 crore from the Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Marketing Board.
Non-Sensex frontline tech stocks Digital GlobalSoft (up 4.50% to Rs 390.10), I-flex solutions (up 2.33% to Rs 930), Mascot Systems (up 2.61% to Rs 2.61% to Rs 112), Wipro (up 1.82% to Rs 856), NIIT (up 2.15% to Rs 147.10), Polaris Software (up 1.45% to Rs 108.70) and SSI (up 0.41% to Rs 86) moved ahead.
Neyveli Lignite (up 2.25% to Rs 40.50) recovered as buying interest resumed on the counter after Thursday's correction.
Other PSU stocks Gail India (up 1.03% to Rs 107.60), RCF (up 1.73% to Rs 35.25), Bongaigaon Refinery (up 1.63% to Rs 34.20), Bharat Earth Movers (up 1.19% to Rs 84.80), Shipping Corp (up 1.43% to Rs 74.40), BPCL (up 1.49% to Rs 262), Bharat Electronics (up 1.17% to Rs 307) and Engineers India (up 1.23% to Rs 295.45)
The Maruti IPO, which is the eighth largest IPO in Indian capital market history, was oversubscribed 1.46 times on day one itself. The huge success of the Maruti IPO is likely to increase the government's thrust on privatising PSUs. The government plans to sell part of its stake in BPCL and Nalco through the IPO route later this year.
Kochi Refineries (down 15.49% to Rs 70.65) was quoted on ex-dividend basis from today. The company had declared a dividend of 100% from FY 2002-03.
Zodiac Clothing (Rs 99) and Aban Loyd Chiles (Rs 245.70) were frozen at the 10% upper limit of the circuit breaker.
Ipca Labs (up 5.34% to Rs 291.20) spurted after the company announced results on Thursday. For the quarter ended 31 March 2003, the company posted a net profit of Rs 11.39 crore (Rs 9.57 crore) on total income of Rs 129.27 crore (Rs 110.40 crore). For the year ended 31 March 2003, the company's net profit stood at Rs 61.86 crore (Rs 35.05 crore) on total income of Rs 524.97 crore (Rs 455.68 crore). The company's board has proposed a 90% dividend for FY 2002-03.
Salora International (up 3.52% to Rs 52.95) rose after the company announced results earlier this week. For the quarter ended 31 March 2003, the company posted a net profit of Rs 1.87 crore (Rs 1.09 crore) on net sales of Rs 84.34 crore (Rs 68.88 crore). For the year ended 31 March 2003, the company's net profit stood at Rs 9.56 crore (Rs 3.34 crore) on net sales of Rs 341.68 crore (Rs 245.69 crore). The company's board has proposed a 30% dividend for FY 2002-03.
Wellwin Industries (up 3.34% to Rs 17) climbed after the company announced that Piaggio & CSPA, Italy, has approved Wellwin as an OEM vendor for supply of starter motors for the two wheelers being manufactured by the Italian company. Piaggio after study on quality system of Wellwin and having been satisfied with its technical capabilities have placed trial orders for supply of starter motors. The samples are under homologation and the approval is at an advanced stage. Wellwin will, on approval, be supplying 10000 units each per annum for two of their models. The company has ambitious plans for expanding its product range with particular thrust for export.