The Hindu Business Line : Market overcomes intra-day volatility; Sensex up 32 pts

THE bourses overcame intra-day volatility and the benchmark indices closed in the green for the fifth consecutive trading session on Wednesday. Yet, market participants feel sentiment is still not overtly bullish and expect stocks to move in a range-bound manner.

Bucking global trading trends for the day, the Sensex touched its intra-day high of 6,612.25, breaching the 6,600 level. However, it slipped on profit-bookings to close at 6,597.60, up 32.23 points from Tuesday's close. The Nifty gained 0.75 per cent or 15.25 points at 2,043.85.

The gains in the indices were led by the pharmaceutical sector, and stocks such as ONGC and ITC.

Ranbaxy gained Rs 37.80 to close at Rs 1,040.20, up 3.77 per cent. The interest in the stock is primarily due to Ranbaxy's announcement about the launch of its approved generic formulation of Clarithromycin tablets in the US.

Even though it is not a money-spinner for the company, with reported past sales of $204 million, the news related sentiment has been high in the market, said a broker. Other pharmaceutical stocks such as Dr Reddy's and Cipla also witnessed smart rallies.

Eicher Motors' announcement of the sale of its tractors, engines and gears division to TAFE was well received by the market.

The stock gained Rs 46 to close at Rs 368.65, up 14.26 per cent from its close on Tuesday.

The CNX Mid-Cap index, which has been touching new highs consistently over the last few trading sessions, closed firmly over the 3,000-level for the first time. The index touched a high of 3,017.90 and closed at 3,010.5.

The overall market movement was also positive on Wednesday.

At the BSE, 1,292 scrips advanced while 1,194 declined.

The NSE reported advances of 417 stocks and declines 393.

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Market overcomes intra-day volatility; Sensex up 32 pts