Markets end firm: Pharma, FMCG & auto rally

The Sensex closed up 14.79 points or 0.22% at 6729.90. It touched an intraday high of 6763.28 and an intraday low of 6,710.37. The Nifty ended flat at 2087.55. The Midcap 200 Index closed at 3010.25.

The market breadth was positive, about 1496 shares advanced, 950 shares declined, and 66 shares remained unchanged. The total turnover today was Rs 15,023.12 crore (Rs 150.23 billion).

• Pharma, FMCG & auto stocks gain
• Market turnover at Rs 15023.12 crore
• Metal & technology stocks down

In the NSE F&O segment, volumes continued to be low. The total turnover was around Rs 8,500 crore (Rs 85 billion). The Nifty Futures was at a steep discount of 24 points. It added 9 lakh shares in Open Interest.  Arvind Mills, HLL, Infosys, Matrix Labs, ONGC, RIL, Satyam, SBI, Tata Steel, and Tata Motors were the top trades.

Analysts say that the momentum in the market is still good, and going forward the market should do reasonably well in the near term.

The BSE Consumer Durables Index outperformed the other indices. It closed up 1.68% at 1889.76 amid gains in Titan Industries, Samtel Colour, Whirlpool, Mirc Electronics, BPL and Su-Raj Diamonds.

The BSE Healthcare Index closed up 1.34% at 2748.51 due to buying in Glenmark, Cadila Health, Biocon, Wockhardt, Ranbaxy, Nicholas Piramal, Cipla, Sterling Biotech, Dr Reddy's, Matrix Lab, and Stride Arcolab. Stride Arcolab gained Rs 33.20, or 13.22% at Rs 284.35, while Matrix Lab gained Rs 2.55, or 1.38% at Rs 186.90 after Matrix Lab board okayed the merger with Strides Arcolab.

FMCG stocks including HLL, Colgate, Nirma, Nestle, Tata Tea, Dabur India and Britannia also witnessed good buying interest. The BSE FMCG Index closed up 1.19% at 1217.47.

Action was also seen in auto stocks including TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, Cummins, Hero Honda, Tata Motors, Ashok Lelyand, M&M, and Bharat Forge. The BSE Auto Index closed up 1.01% at 2848.82.

Buying was also seen in oil stocks including BPCL, Castrol, ONGC, Reliance, MRPL, Gail, HPCL and Kochi Refineries. There are reports that a fuel price hike is unlikely before mid-June. The Prime Minister is to meet Finance Minister and Petroleum Minister on Thursday to discuss oil price hike.

Select buying was seen in capital goods and media stocks.

Losses however were seen in metal stocks including Sail, Tisco, Nalco, Hindalco, JVSL, Sesa Goa, and Jindal Steel. Sail announced a cut in steel prices by Rs 500-2,000 per tonne, following weakening spot trends. Also, Nalco cut aluminium prices by Rs 2500 per tonne and Hindalco by Rs 2550 per tonne. The BSE Metal Index underperform the other indices. It closed down 1.79% at 5478.19.

Technology stocks like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Polaris and HCL technologies also witnessed selling. The BSE IT Index closed down 0.99% at 2718.82.

Banking stocks including IOB, Bank of India, HDFC Bank, SBI, UTI Bank, Oriental bank, Andhra Bank, Union Bank and Canara Bank also lost the ground.

Some selling was also seen in select cement and telecom stocks.

 

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