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Nath Balakrishnan

THE market closed with the benchmark index, the BSE Sensex at 3,181.47 on Thursday, representing a gain of 8.12 points, even as key index stocks such as Reliance, Reliance Petro and MTNL, all of which were responsible for holding up the Sensex on Wednesday, reversed direction and moved into the negative zone.

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The advances to declines ratio stood even at 663 to 660 and about 8.18 crore shares were traded on the BSE. The Nifty closed the day at 1,008.60 points, up 1.65 points.

Among Sensex stocks, major gainers include Infosys Technologies, which was up Rs 73.50 at Rs 3, 575.55; Cipla, which closed the day at Rs 972.45, a jump of Rs 21.65 on a report that the company planned to launch a new asthma treatment drug; Nestle, up Rs 11.30 at Rs 571.20 on the news of a reported block deal, and Satyam Computer, which gained Rs 4.65 to finish the day at Rs 243.05. About 98 lakh shares changed hands at the Satyam counter.

The script went awry for Wednesday's star performers - Reliance, Reliance Petro and MTNL. All three stocks slipped and ended the day in the red. While Reliance closed at Rs 265.30, down Rs 3.60, MTNL lost Rs 1.95 to finish the day at Rs 117. Reliance Petro was down marginally at Rs 23.45

There was a plenty of colour in paints sector. While Asian Paints gained Rs 9.60 to end the day at Rs 351.30, on the news that it had expressed its intent to acquire a controlling stake in the Singapore-based Berger International, its competitor in India, Berger Paints, hit a high of Rs 86.40 before closing the day at Rs 78.40, a rise of Rs 6.40. Berger later issued a statement that the company had no links with that based in Singapore. The other major player in the industry, Goodlass Nerolac also saw its price go up by Rs 5.55 before it closed the day at Rs 145.50.

Two other stocks that notched up gains were Britannia Industries and India Hume. Both companies have announced buybacks at prices at fair premium to the current market price. While Britannia was up by Rs 3.45 and ended the day at Rs 542.50, India Hume closed the day at Rs 620, registering a gain of Rs 28.20 in the process.

Oil sector stocks, BPCL and HPCL, which had been moving up in unison over the last few trading sessions decided to part and go their separate ways. HPCL ended the day in positive territory, while BPCL slipped and ended the day in the red. Other public sector stocks - Indian Oil Corporation, Shipping Corporation of India, BHEL and Engineers India - ended below their close on Wednesday. However, ONGC gained Rs 1.85 to finish the day at Rs 370.20.

Second-rung technology stocks that gained include Rolta, Geometric Software and Infotech Enterprises. MphasiS, Polaris, e-Serve International and i-flex Solutions did not find the going all that smooth and ended the day lower. Wipro also lost Rs 4.70 to finish at Rs 1,239.25.

Cement stocks had something to write home about as all the major players posted gains. ACC was up Rs 3.05 at Rs 140.55; Gujarat Ambuja gained Rs 2.10 to settle at Rs 167.05; Grasim rose by Rs 5.60 to end at Rs 321.15, and L&T ended in positive ground at Rs 181.75.

TVS Motor, which had registered a sharp gain in Wednesday's trade, appeared to have hit a speed breaker as the stock lost Rs 8.70 to end the day at Rs 415.00. Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda, however, encountered no such problems and ended in day higher.

It was a mixed bag for media stocks. While the story on Zee, Balaji Telefilms and Cinevistaas had a sad ending as they closed lower; TV18 and Mukta Arts had reason to cheer as their stocks ended higher.

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