Markets end in green

It was a good close for markets as they ended in green with decent gains after opening flat and trading lacklustre for major part of the day. The rise in our markets was seen on the back of some strong cues from global peers.Midcaps and smallcap stocks outperformed giving markets positive breadth.

Sensex ended up 103.45 points or 0.68% at 15422.05, and the Nifty up 10.75 points or 0.24% at 4474.75.

NTPC galloped 6.49% to Rs 184.55 on 24.59 lakh shares. It hit an all time high of Rs 187.90 which is a record high for the counter.As per recent reports, the government plans to divest 4.75% of its stake in NTPC through a public offer that could fetch it nearly Rs 6000 crore.

Domestic pharma companies advanced on renewed buying.Dr Reddy’s Laboratories advanced 3.80% to Rs 665 on reports that it has made a non-binding bid to acquire US-based Bradley, which has a strong presence in the dermatology segment.Cipla,gained 2.75% to Rs 172, while Ranbaxy Laboratories, rose 0.97% to Rs 395.10.

Banking pivotals gained on fresh buying. State Bank of India,rose 0.16% to Rs 1602, off its day’s high of Rs 1621.90. As per reports, the government may give in-principle approval to the intermediate holding company proposed by State Bank of India (SBI). It plans to transfer its investments in its insurance and mutual funds businesses to a subsidiary within the next two to three months. The subsidiary in turn will act as a holding company for SBI’s insurance and mutual fund businesses. It may be listed in 2008-09.

ICICI Bank (up 2.70% to Rs 908.50) and HDFC Bank (up 0.49% to Rs 1177) also gained.

India’s largest power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) rose 3.01% to Rs 1946. It also hit an all time high of Rs 1950. On 29 August 2007, it had won Rs 1,990-crore order for the supply and installation of steam generator and turbine packages at the upcoming 1,000 mega watt Vallur Thermal Power Project in Tamil Nadu.

India’s top small car marker Maruti-Suzuki India rose 1.47% to Rs 881.Reliance Industries (RIL) slipped from an all time high of Rs 1981. It was down 0.57% to Rs 1948.25 on 6.45 lakh shares. It is reportedly in the process of setting up an optic fibre cable (OFC) network in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which will run alongside its gas pipeline from Kakinada to Bharuch.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) lost 1.93% to Rs 841 on 99,939 shares.It has reportedly entered into an agreement with global oil giant British Petroleum (BP) to jointly undertake oil and gas exploration and production projects in India and overseas.

Bharti Airtel (down 1.92% to Rs 863) and Wipro (down 1.69% to Rs 474.10) were the other losers.

India’s second largest bike maker Bajaj Auto lost 0.90% to Rs 2324. Its vehicle sales in August fell 6% to 195,707 units from 208,163 units a year earlier. It said sales of motorcycles declined 7% to 1,67,483 units from 1,80,570 and sales of all two-wheelers slipped 6% to 1,70,203 units from 1,82,013 units a year earlier. The company’s exports jumped 75% to 56,452 units from 32,283 units a year earlier.

Among side counters, Bhushan Steel (up 20% to Rs 911.60), JCT (up 20% to Rs 9.15), NIIT Technologies (up 13.90% to Rs 351.75), Adani Enterprises (up 12.21% to Rs 383.80), Sasken Communications (up 10.87% to Rs 379.80) and Paramount Communications (up 17.40% to Rs 33.40) surged.

Markets trading firm

The market pared gains, after opening on a firm note, as profit booking emerged at higher level. It had opened on a firm note following rally in US stocks on Friday (31 August 2007) after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and US president George Bush assured that they would not let the economy to collapse.The market was trading firm in mid-morning trade, after the initial hiccup.At 12.15 pm, the Sensex is up 97.54 points at 15416.14, and the Nifty up 13.55 points at 4477.05.

Domestic pharma companies advanced on renewed buying.Dr Reddy’s Laboratories advanced 3.46% to Rs 663 on 55,202 shares.The stock gained on reports that it has made a non-binding bid to acquire US-based Bradley, which has a strong presence in dermatology segment.Cipla gained 3.11% to Rs 172.55 while Ranbaxy laboratories,rose 1.47% to Rs 397.

India’s top small car marker Maruti-Suzuki India rose 2.28% to Rs 888. It posted 25% rise in domestic sales to 60,229 units in August 2007 compared to 48,259 units in August 2006.

Reliance Industries (RIL), rose 0.18% to Rs 1963 on 2.79 lakh shares. The stock slipped after hitting an all time high of Rs 1981. It is reportedly in the process of setting up an optic fibre cable (OFC) network in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which will run alongside its gas pipeline from Kakinada to Bharuch.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) lost 1.43% to Rs 845.60 on 41,772 shares.It has reportedly entered into an agreement with global oil giant British Petroleum (BP) to jointly undertake oil and gas exploration and production projects in India and overseas.

Bharti Airtel (down 0.67% to Rs 874) and Wipro (down 0.70% to Rs 479) were the other losers.

India’s second largest bike maker Bajaj Auto lost 0.78% to Rs 2326.75. Its vehicle sales in August fell 6% to 195,707 units from 208,163 units a year earlier. It said sales of motorcycles fell 7% to 1,67,483 units from 1,80,570 and sales of all two-wheelers fell 6% to 1,70,203 units from 1,82,013 units a year earlier. The company’s exports jumped 75% to 56,452 units from 32,283 units a year earlier.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) was up 0.22% to Rs 209 on high total volume of 30.79 lakh shares. A block deal of 10 lakh shares was struck on Hindustan Unilever (HUL) counter at Rs 208 per share on BSE by 10:06 IST. Another block deal of 20 lakh shares was struck on HUL counter at Rs 208.50 per share on BSE by 11:26 IST.