The Hindu Business Line : Sensex swings 365 points intra-day

The markets saw a volatile trading session on Friday with the Sensex witnessing an intra-day swing of 365 points between the high and the low. The day marked the biggest decline in a month now.

Profit booking was witnessed in the FMCG, auto, banking, and oil and gas sectors. The declining stocks outnumbered the advancing stocks in the ratio of 2.3:1, decisively favouring the bears. Despite the day's decline, the Sensex managed to post its seventh weekly gain.

Global cues of pessimism due to rising in oil prices and surging gold prices appeared to have caught the domestic market as well. Confidence evinced by foreign investors has, however, continued unabated. Overseas investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 314 crore on Thursday.

Buzzing stocks

Heavyweight stocks hogged the limelight on Friday. Infosys Technologies saw high turnover as the stock saw buying interest on the back of announcement to consider a bonus issue. The stock added Rs 51.60 to close at Rs 3,166. The stock earlier hit its 52-week high of Rs 3,400 during intra-day trade.

Click here for table

Another frontline IT company, Satyam Computer Services, fell 4.8 per cent to Rs 816.50 after Credit Suisse cut its earnings estimate for the company for 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Zee Telefilms rose to a record high after it won the right to telecast some of the one-day cricket matches to be played by India. The stock later cooled a bit to close with gains of 1.5 per cent. Ansal Properties & Infrastructure and Unitech were realty stocks that hit the upper circuit filter.

Sector focus

Strong cement dispatches for the month of March favoured cement stocks. ACC was up by 5.7 per cent. Grasim Industries, Dalmia Cement and Gujarat Ambuja Cement also moved northward.

The BSE Metal index appeared to be the only sector index that withstood challenges from the bear and closed marginally higher. Fresh buying of metal stocks was seen on the back of firm metal prices.

Newly listed stock Adhunik Metaliks gained 13.5 per cent to close at Rs 47.60. Bhushan Steel, Nalco, JSW Steel and Hindustan Zinc were other stocks that closed in the green.

Stocks in the banking space lost ground. Vijaya Bank, Bank of India and Canara Bank witnessed declines of 4-5 per cent. ICICI Bank fell Rs 21 or 3.4 per cent to Rs 600.50. Overseas investment in the stock was stalled as foreign investments have reached the maximum permissible limit of 74 per cent.

Stock-specific action

Engineering and construction major L&T reached a new high of Rs 2,747 during intra-day trade. The company bagged an order worth Rs 368 crore for supplying coal gasification equipment to Chinese power producer, Datang International Power Generation. The stock, however, ended flat towards close of session.

IDFC gained 3.4 per cent to close at Rs 73.50. The company raised $430 million in a private equity fund for infrastructure works in the country.

Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Rane Holdings, Tulip IT Services and Rama Newsprint & Papers were prominent gainers among the Nifty constituents.

Malu Paper Mills, Nitin Spinners, AIA Engineering and Corporation Bank were significant losers.