Bank Scrips Grab The Centre Stage

Bank scrips occupied centre stage at the bourses yesterday with Bank of India leading the way. The scrip which gained listing at the NSE yesterday, recorded a turnover of Rs 23.23 crore with 35.64 lakh shares changing hands. It hit the upper end of the circuit-filter at the BSE and the NSE at Rs 66.75 and Rs 66.80 respectively.

Among the other bank scrips which witnessed hectic activity were Global Trust Bank (GTB), Federal Bank and the Bank of Baroda. Federal Bank hit the upper end of the circuit-breaker at both exchanges. United Western Bank too saw a spurt in volumes with 8,700 shares changing hands on the NSE.

The BSE Sensitive Index closed the day at 3753.50, losing 27.99 points over the previous close of 3781.49. The Sensex opened stronger at 3785.83 and moved up to the intra-day high of 3790.69 within the first five minutes of trading. It then hovered around 3775-3785 for most part of the day before sliding rapidly towards the last half hour of trading. Indian Rayon and Century Textiles continued to slide further with the latter hitting the lower end of the circuit-filter at Rs 2,033.25.

In the A group, Hero Honda shot up sharply and touched its 52-week high at the major bourses during intra-day trading.

The scrip gained Rs 35 over its previous close at the BSE and Rs 25.65 over the previous NSE close to end the day at Rs 400 and Rs 391.75 respectively. In the same group BPCL also touched its 52-week high at both the exchanges during intra-day trading.

In the B group, Carrier Aircon, Cipla and Ingersol Rand moved up on investment buying and were the prominent gainers.

Refinery scrips ran out of steam on profit-booking with Cochin Refineries being the biggest loser. The scrip lost Rs 14.75 over the previous close and hit the lower end of the circuit-filter at Rs 134.50, which was also yesterday's closing price. Madras Refineries was actively traded at both exchanges but lost ground at the BSE and gained marginally at the NSE. Bongaigon Refineries, however, ruled steady.