Sensex closes 144 pts up, clocks 6% gain in a week

Indian equity benchmarks continued their uptrend for the third consecutive session on Friday and closed the truncated week with 973 points gains on the Sensex. Heavyweight Reliance Industries led the rally, gaining more than 10% in three sessions.

Today the market did not participate wholly in the global sell-off  as the previous two days (holiday for Indian markets on Wednesday and Thursday) of global gains acted as a buffer. In the opening trade, the Sensex shot up over 300 points to hit an intra-day high of 16,989.86. But at the close, the 30-share BSE Sensex clocked a gain of only 144.71 points to touch 16,821.46. The 50-share NSE Nifty gained 39 points at 5,040 supported by 31 stocks. Portfolio Manager PN Vijay feels India would not have any carnage in September. The market may cautiously move up 2-3% in September, he added. Global markets, however, saw huge selling pressure ahead of the release of US jobs data. European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were trading 2-3% lower. The Dow Jones futures fell 73 points. Among Asian markets, Shanghai, Hang Seng, Straits Times and Nikkei closed down 1-2%. On the home turf, metal, oil & gas and auto sectors led the market higher today; respective sectoral indices went up 2-2.7%. However, technology and power stocks limited the upside, falling 1% each. This rally was actually led by heavyweight Reliance Industries. In three sessions, the stock gained 12% to close at around Rs 805 a share. Reliance Communications, DLF and Reliance Capital were the major gainers today; rallied 5.5-6.5% (these three stocks surged 17-19% this week). Tata Steel, Sterlite, M&M, Reliance Infrastructure, Bajaj Auto and Sun Pharma shot up 3-4.6%. ITC, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Tata Motors were up 1-1.6%. However, TCS, NTPC, BHEL, Infosys, Maruti and PNB lost 1-2%. Maruti Suzuki continued to fall due to workers' strike at its Manesar plant. HCL Tech and IDFC were major losers; both tumbled 3.5%. Among midcaps, Manappuram General, VIP Industries, Parsvnath, Cox & Kings and Chambal Fertiliser rallied 6-11%. However, DB Corp, KGN Industries, SREI Infra, Bajaj Electricals and Indiabulls Real slipped 4-5%. Everonn Education locked at 20% lower circuit as company's MD P Kishore was arrested by CBI in bribery case on Monday. About 1702 shares advanced as against 1165 shares declined on BSE. Total traded turnover was more than Rs 98,000 crore. _PAGEBREAK_ At 14:58 hours IST : Sensex holds 100 pts gain amid volatility; RIL supports The benchmark Sensex was trying to hold 100 points gains amid choppy trade, aided by heavyweight Reliance Industries. Metal, auto, cement, healthcare, telecom and major banking stocks too were quite supportive. The Nifty managed to cross the 5,000 mark, which is considered as a support. The index was trading at 5,030, up 30 points. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 122 points to 16,799. Among largecaps, Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, M&M, Sun Pharma, DLF and Reliance Communications rallied 3-6%. Heavyweight Reliance Industries has remained trading with 3% gain. ITC, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and SBI moved up 1-2%. However, TCS, NTPC, BHEL, Infosys, Tata Power, PNB, IDFC, Maruti, Siemens and Grasim were down 1-3%. On the global front, European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 2-3% ahead of US jobs data to be declared today. At 14 hours IST : Nifty breaks 5000 as Europe extends losses Indian equities erased almost all its gains with Nifty retracing 5,000-mark on its way down as European markets appeared jittery ahead of US jobs data release. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down about 2% each. Even the Dow Jones and Nasdaq futures fell 0.5% each. The 50-share NSE Nifty was trading at 4,999, down 2 points amid extreme volatility; about 28 shares gained as against 22 shares declined. Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 14 points at 16,691. Technology, power, capital goods and select financial companies' shares were under pressure. TCS, NTPC, Infosys and BHEL tumbled over 2%. ONGC, HDFC, HDFC Bank and L&T were down 0.5-1%. IDFC and HCL Tech were top losers; these stocks lost 4% each. Wipro, Maruti, Axis Bank, PNB and Sesa Goa fell 1.5-2%. SBI too came off day's high; it was trading with 0.4% gain. However, Reliance Communications, Sterlite and Tata Steel were biggest gainers; these stocks moved up 4-5%. Heavyweight Reliance Industries maintained its leadership position; it gained 2.6%. ITC and ICICI Bank went up over 1%. M&M, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, DLF, Hindalco and Ambuja Cements gained 2-3%. At 12:46 hours IST : Sensex trades higher; tech, capital goods dip Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher, though there was some profit booking at higher levels due to sell-off in global markets. European markets fell 1-2% in the opening trade while major Asian markets were trading 1% lower. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 16,796, up 119 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty moved up 31 points to 5,032. Among largecaps, Sterlite Industries, M&M, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, DLF, Reliance Communications and Ambuja Cements surged 2.5-5%. However, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Power, BHEL, TCS, Infosys, IDFC, Tata Power and Grasim were top losers; these stocks lost 0.9-1.7%. HCL Tech fell 3.5%. In the midcap space, NCC, Manappuram General, SpiceJet, Glodyne Tech and VIP Industries gained 5-7% while DB Corp, Bajaj Electricals, Polaris, SREI Infra and Educomp Solutions fell 3.5-4.5%. In the smallcap space, Bhagwati Banquet surged 18%. Infinite Computer, Kanani Industries, Symphony and Modern India rallied 6-10%. However, Everonn Education was locked at 20% lower circuit as its MD arrested by CBI in bribery case.  Prraneta Industries, Hindustan Media, JB Chemicals and Prakash Industries were down 8-10%. Total traded turnover was more than Rs 50,000 crore. At 12:01 hours IST : Nifty crosses 5050; RComm, Sterlite top gainers Consistent buying in oil & gas, metal, banking, telecom, cement and healthcare companies' shares helped the Nifty to touch 5050 level again. The 50-share NSE Nifty was trading at 5,062, up 61 points. Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 216 points to 16,893. Reliance Communications topped the list on Nifty by gaining 6%. Sterlite Industries was the second biggest gainer; it jumped nearly 5%. All sectoral indices were in green barring IT, which lost 1%. The BSE Oil & Gas, Metal and Realty indices rallied 2% each. Auto, Healthcare, FMCG and Bank indices were up 1-1.7%. Reliance Industries marched further; the stock gained 3.4%. SBI and ICICI Bank from financial space rose 2% each. Tata Motors, M&M, Bajaj Auto and M&M from auto pack surged 1-3.5%. Maruti lost over 1% due to workers' strike at company's Manesar plant. In the cement space, Ambuja Cements moved up over 3% and ACC rose 1%. However, the sell-off continues in Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, BHEL, Tata Power, Grasim and PNB. About 877 shares advanced as against 502 shares declined. At 10:56 hours IST : Sensex moves up; Metal, Oil & Gas rise 2% The benchmark Sensex extended gains on the back of further buying in heavyweight Reliance Industries, which rose nearly 3%. The 30-share BSE benchmark was trading at 16,832, up 156 points. Even the 50-share NSE Nifty was inching towards the 5050 amid a choppy trade; it rose 44 points to 5,045. Anil Manghnani of Modern Shares and Stock Brokers says that the market should look out for 5109.