Sensex Ends 13 Pts Up, Snaps Two-day Losing Trend

In choppy trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex on 24 December' 2012 closed 13 points higher as gains in Tata Motors and IT stocks marginally outweighed the losses in ONGC, ITC and Reliance Industries amid mixed global cues.

 

After trading in a tight 110-point range, the Sensex closed 13.09 points higher at 19,255.09 -- snapping a two-session falling trend where it had lost 234 points.

 

According to market participants, the trading sentiment was dull on account of Christmas holiday tomorrow and expiry of derivative contracts on December 27. Traders stayed cautious, leading to narrow movements, they added.

 

Tata Motors, which gained around 2.4 per cent, led the 12 Sensex gainers. Infosys, TCS and Wipro rose on account of buying after the recent spate of correction.

 

"Investors remained cautious....as they took to profit-booking in some of the major stocks like RIL, ONGC, HDFC and Maruti which kept pressure on the upside.

 

"European and Asian indices were mixed and did not provide any concrete cues for domestic market," said Rakesh Goyal, Senior Vice President, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.

 

Jindal Steel shares, which lost around 1.9 per cent, was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks today.

 

Overall, shares of realty, IT and healthcare moved up on good buying support while metal and refinery scrips eased on selling pressure.

 

The total market breadth was slightly better as 1,448 stocks closed with gains while 1,431 finished with losses.

 

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty advanced by 8.05 points to close ar 5,855.75.

 

Globally, Asian markets ended narrowly mixed, while European stocks were also trading dull in afternoon trades.

 

Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea inched up by 0.07-0.27 per cent while Taiwan's Weighted index eased by 0.06 per cent. The Japanese market was closed today.

 

In Europe, the UK's FTSE was trading 0.28 per cent up while France's CAC eased by 0.09 per cent. The German stock market remained closed today.

 

Back home, 12 out of 30 Sensex-based scrips closed higher. Tata Motors was the top gainer with a rise of 2.44 per cent, followed by Wipro (1.78 pc), Sun Pharma (1.46 pc), Infosys (1.15 pc), Tata Power (1.09 pc), Bajaj Auto (0.84 pc).

 

Among losers, Jindal Steel declined by 1.93 per cent, followed by ONGC (1.88 pc), Maruti Suzuki (1.60 pc) and Sterlite Industries (1.50 pc). RIL also lost 0.36 per cent.

 

Kishor P Ostwal, CMD, CNI Research said, "Market was flat without volumes ahead of the holiday. It seems markets were lifeless without FII."

 

Second-line stocks were, however, in demand and as a result, the BSE-Smallcap and BSE-Midcap indices outperformed the BSE Sensex -- indicating more retail participation.

 

Persistent capital inflows into equity market by foreign funds, however, helped the benchmark indices to end in positive terrain. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 115.34 crore last Friday, as per provisional data with stock exchanges.

 

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE-Teck rose by 0.95 per cent, followed by BSE-Realty (0.91 pc), BSE-IT (0.87 pc) and BSE-HealthCare (0.81 pc). However, BSE-Metal eased by 0.53 per cent and BSE-Oil&Gas shed 0.43 per cent.

 

The total turnover dropped sharply to Rs 1,646.65 crore against Rs 2,226.13 crore last Friday.

 

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will remain closed tomorrow, December 25, on account of "Christmas" holiday.

 

(PTI)