Bargain buys provide succour
STOCKS REPORT
| Shares opened weak and fell in early trades amid fears of problems brewing between coalition partners of the new Congress-led government over the issue of Cabinet formation. |
| They, however, recovered in late afternoon trades after certain allies reportedly issued statements that they had not made demands for any ministries. |
| The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) 30-stock index, Sensex, fell 127.21 points in intraday trades to the day's low of 4,804.90 before recovering to close at 4,961.57, up 0.60 per cent (29.46 points) over Thrusday's close. The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty, a broader index, gained 16.35 points to close at 1,560.20. |
| The Sensex witnessed a swing of 174 points intraday trading, hitting a high of 4978.56 points intraday. |
| The BSE PSU index was the biggest gainer in a lacklustre market, gaining 0.97 per cent, followed by the FMCG index, up 0.64 per cent and the Bankex, up 0.44 per cent. |
| The capital goods sector index was the largest loser, with a fall of 0.80 per cent. |
| Investors played wait-and-watch game today, waiting for the Cabinet formation on Saturday and the new government's economic policies. |
| Brokers are now looking for the common minimum programme and who will be named to the posts of finance and commerce ministries before taking any fresh positions. |
| The breadth of the market was negative with losers outnumbering gainers by 896-to-706. The Sensex basket saw 16 scrips closing higher. Traded volumes were lower, with turnover of Rs 1,819.24 crore on the BSE and Rs 4,066.30 crore on the NSE. |
| Grasim was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, up 4.23 per cent to Rs 1070.80, followed by HDFC, up 3.83 per cent to Rs 579.50 and ONGC gained 3.51 per cent to Rs 706.55. |
| Tata Power was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 5.99 per cent to Rs 292.85, followed by Zee Telefilms, down 3.39 per cent to Rs 118.35 and Bhel fell 2.22 per cent to Rs 453.10. |
| Heavyweights ITC gained 1.19 per cent to Rs 899.65, HLL was up 0.77 per cent to Rs 138 and State Bank of India was up 0.13 per cent to Rs 515.50 while Reliance Industries fell 0.77 per cent to Rs 439.40. |
| A dealer from a local brokerage said, "The sentiment was affected because of the bickering between the Congress and its allies over Cabinet posts, which could have led to the volatility today." |
| Brokers expect markets to remain rangebound till greater clarity emerges. |