IT and Banks Edge Higher

123jump.com Staff
17 Apr, 2008
New York City

Stocks in Mumbai trading rebounded 1.5% to 16,481 and CNX Nifty rose same to 4,958. Software exporters rose for the second day in a row. Annual wholesale inflation for the year ending on April 5 edged lower to 7.14%. Banks gained after the inflation report. Orchid Chemicals was the most active stock for the second day in a row on the BSE.

[R]10:00AM New York, 7:30PM Mumbai - Banking, IT shares lift the market higher, oil and gas stocks fall.[/R]

Market Sentiment

Indian stocks rallied on Thursday, lifted by gains in software and banking shares.

At close, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 1.5% or 237.01 at 16,481.20. In the broader market, NSE Nifty rose 1.5% or 71.1 at 4958.40.

Realty and metal stocks traded lackluster in the the morning session, picked up momentum in the last hour of trading.

Banking stocks rose after inflation eased from more than three years'' high hit in late March 2008. The wholesale price index rose 7.14% in the year ending on April 5th, according to the latest Government statistics.

Of the index shares, HDFC Bank, Hindalco Industries, Housing Development Finance Corporation, DLF and Tata Steel gained the most while Hindustan Unilever, ACC, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Energy and ONGC dropped the most.

Of the stocks traded on BSE, 2,025 stocks gained, 703 stocks declined and 51 stocks remained unchanged.

Turnover

Daily turnover on the BSE stood at 6,683 crore rupees and 15,139 crore rupees on the NSE.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals was the most active stock on the BSE for the second day in a row with a turnover of 663.21 crore followed by NDTV, Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Natural Resources.

Record Oil Price

Oil prices on Thursday set a record above $115 a barrel as a fall in the U.S. gasoline inventories raised supply shortage concerns ahead of the summer driving season.

U.S. crude set a new high of $115.45 a barrel, third record in as many days and is now up 20% for the year. London Brent set a record $113.29.

Gainers and Decliners

ICICI Bank rose 2.4% at 835.20 rupees. Software shares maintained the rally. TCS gained 2.7% at 1,000.90 rupees and Wipro rose 2.65 at 459.20 rupees. Infosys Technologies advanced 4.2% at 1,666.45 rupees.

Oil shares were battered. Indian Oil Corporation declined 0.9% at 452.50 rupees, Essar Oil lost 0.3% at 262.55 rupees and BPCL fell 0.1% at 400.80 rupees.

Reliance Update

Reliance Industries declined 0.3% at 2,636.95 rupees.

Reliance Petroleum rose 1.1% at 186.90 rupees. Media reports quoted that Reliance Industries’ addition of 5.80 lakh barrel a day export-oriented refinery at Jamnagar, Gujarat would be completed ahead of its schedule start of December 2008. Recently, RIL decided to close between 900 and 950 petrol pump stations after consistently losing money.