07 - June - 2005

The NIFTY benchmark closed the day at 2098.15 up by 5.35 points or 0.26% and the SENSEX ended at 6781.25 up by 23.06 points or 0.34%.
Markets were volatile in early trades and slipped into a narrow range as trading progressed for the day.The BSE Sensex opened in the negative and sunk deeper into red to touch a low of 6737 in the opening trades. After that the index moved above the flat line and was trading in the 6770 levels till 10.30 a.m. Blue chips such as Reliance, HLL, ONGC and Tata Steel slipped due to profit taking by investors. The Sensex clawed back and traded in the positive terrain till the time of close.
The index touched an intraday high of 6795 in the afternoon. After touching the highs the index was trading in the region of 6784-6770 levels. In the last fifteen minutes of trade the BSE Sensex surged to close at 6781.25, up 23.06 points. Bank stocks chiefly led by HDFC Bank led the rally in the markets. The market breadth was positive with gainers at 1393and losers at 1123. Out of 2574 stocks, 58 remained unchanged.

Among the major gainers on the BSE Sensex, HDFC Bank shot up 6.47 per cent to close at Rs 589, HDFC gained 3.38 per cent to close at Rs 806.65 on the news that the company has bought 90 lakh equity shares of Indraprastha Medical Corporation, in a block deal amounting to 9.8 per cent stake of the company. The shares were bought at a price of Rs 42.90 a share. ICICI Bank was up 2.90 per cent to close at Rs 405.70.
Software stocks closed largely in the positive. While major gainers include i-flex (1.6%) and Wipro (2.1%), selling was seen in HCL Tech (-0.6%) and TCS (-0.2%). Auto ancilliaries were mixed but Amara Raja Batteries (6.7%) continued to surge following reports that the company would be the sole supplier of batteries to Maruti for their newly launched model 'Swift'.

Bajaj Auto was up 0.70 per cent, Maruti gained 0.52 per cent and Hero Honda was up 0.34 per cent. Tata Power gained 0.68 per cent, NTPC inched up 0.29 per cent and REL was up 0.48 per cent. The BANKEX shot up 114.2 points or 2.96 per cent today to close at 3970.95.
Telecom stocks traded firm today. VSNL was up 3.60 per cent, Tata Tele gained 2.95 per cent and MTNL was up 1.45 per cent. Among the major losers on the BSE Sensex, TISCO lost 2.99 per cent to close at Rs 338.80, HLL was down 2.74 per cent to close at Rs 2.74 and ITC was down 1.98 per cent to close at Rs 1549.60. Select pharma and cement stocks lost on the bourses today.

Kotak Mahindra Bank 12.04 per cent increase in profit after tax at Rs 23.07 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 as compared to Rs 20.59 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank closed at Rs 397.70, up 1.86 per cent. Maruti gained 0.52 per cent on the news that the auto major would be increasing the prices by Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 of its latest launch `Swift.

The CNX MIDCAP also closed above 3000 at 3046.40, up 0.32 per cent.

Nifty Top 5 Gainers

HDFC Bank 588.35 6.34
PNB 404.50 3.51
VSNL 223.40 3.31
HDFC 807.45 3.29
ICICI Bank 405.35 2.96

Nifty Top 5 Losers

Tata Steel 339.25 (2.93)
HLL 143.50 (2.78)
ITC 1550.25 (1.97)
Ranbaxy 1089.00 (1.91)
BPCL 374.90 (1.06)

NSE Volume Toppers (Rs. crs.)

SRF 302.49
Reliance 231.60
Infosys 136.27
SBI 124.80
SakSoft 95.93

END OF DAILY MARKET UPDATE : 07-JUNE-2005