Turnaround In Trading Sentiment On Short Covering

There was a turnaround in the trading sentiment at National Stock Exchange (NSE) with the 50-share index moving up by 29.45 points to close at 1010.70 over its previous close of 981.25.

According to sources, the sharp rise in the index was mainly on account of short covering, as it was the last of settlement at the NSE. The market was in an oversold position and the operators and speculators were forced to square their position.

The Nifty opened at 981.10 touched a high of 1015.20, dipped to a low of 974.70 before closing at 1010.70, a gain of 29.45 points. On the other hand, the Midcap index closed at 1147.05 points over the previous close of 1129.70, a gain of 17.35 points.

The total traded turnover at the exchange surged to Rs 2,240 crore with over 7.69 crore shares changing hand. Yesterdays rally was lead by ITC which closed at Rs 558 before touching a high of Rs 584. The scrip yesterday closed at Rs 538.30. The total traded turnover at the counter touched a whopping Rs 1297.24 crore.

Among the other major gainers during yesterdays trading were, BHEL which closed at Rs 339.20 (previous close of Rs 314.75), Bajaj Auto which closed at Rs 591.85 (Rs 554.80), Reliance which closed at Rs 157.50 (Rs 148.30), Reliance Capital which closed at Rs 53.05 (Rs 50) and Castrol which closed at Rs 664.55 (Rs 631.60).

The SBI counter witnessed hectic activity and the scrip closed at Rs 220 (Rs 221) and the trading turnover touched Rs 265.86 crore. Most of the other pivotals also gained ground yesterday with software scrips heading the pack. The Satyam Computers scrip closed at a gain of seven per cent and it closed at Rs 158.15 (Rs 147.80) with the total traded turnover touching Rs 11.03 crore.