Select Pivotals Surge On Short Covering, Fii Buying

Share prices remained firm on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on the last day of the settlement period. The BSE-30 Sensex opened at 4,018.59 went high up to 4,036.61 before closing at 4,032.35, up by 25.31 points over its previous close. The Sensex on Thursday closed ,at 4,007.04.

Domestic institutional investors brought selective stocks. The market did not witness any volatile trading activity baring few scrips in A group, said a broker.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to play an active role, said a dealer. Scrips like ITC, Tata Tea, ICICI, and MNC figured among the shares purchased by FIIs.

Though the FIIs continued to sell in the market they are also purchasing selective stocks which are fundamentally strong, having fallen sharply ahead or after the announcement of oil price hike, said a fund manager from a leading FII.

According to market sources FIIs were aggressive buyers in MNC stocks also. Scrips like Reckitt & Coleman registered sharp gains moving up by Rs17 to close at Rs 363, Ponds moved up by Rs 60 to close at Rs 1,772, Nestle by Rs 3 to Rs 279, Britannia moved up Rs 15 to close at Rs 340.

Other scrips that moved up were Tata Tea, up Rs 21 at Rs 460 on rumours of the company doing well. Carrier Aircon moved up by Rs 11 to close at Rs 313, Lakme by Rs 12 to Rs 317.

Infotech stocks continued to remain firm. Among the scrips that registered sharp gains were Infosy Tech, moving up by Rs 14 to close at Rs 1,296, Satyam Computer by Rs 1 to close at Rs 184.

According to market sources the market is expected to remain steady next week since FIIs have started buying during the last few trading sessions.