Cyclicals recover, tech stocks hammered again

Cyclicals recover, tech stocks hammered again
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU

MUMBAI, MAR 14: Select stocks led by Hindustan Lever, pharma and consumer goods rallied on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on investment buying while technology shares extended losses tracking the global pullback in the sector. Sensex closed above the crucial 5,000 point mark, recovering significantly from its lowest this year at 4,943.30 touched earlier. The broader 50-share National Stock Exchange index (NSE) ended 0.59 per cent or 9.20 points higher at 1,569.90.

Riding high on the Hindustan Lever rally, Sensex soared to the intra-day high of 5177.55 before closing at 5175.71 with a net gain of 46.49 points compared to previous closing of 5129.22. The BSE-100 Index, however, eased further by 13.30 points to 3043.53 from previous close of 3056.83.

With the SEBI lifting a number of additional volatility margins imposed on brokers, operators enlarged positions in several cyclical and pharma shares which were quoted at attractive levels. FIIs and financial institutions led by UTI were seen picking up Indian stocks at their low while continuing offloading in software and media stocks induced by a sharp setback in the Nasdaq Index. Tech stocks like Infosys and Satyam fell 8 per cent hit the lower circuit.

In the specified group, 44 scrips including HLL, L&T, SBI, TELCO, TISCO, RIL and HPCL were locked in the upper circuit filter at the close. However, six counters including four IT stocks hit the lower price band.

Satyam Computer remained the most active scrip with a turnover of Rs 747.37 crore of the total volume of business of Rs 4550.44 crore. However, the Satyam Computer nosedived by Rs 442.15 to Rs 5367.85 on selling pressure. HFCL dipped by Rs 135.55 to Rs 1777.40, Global Tele-Systems by Rs 221.15 to Rs 2543.50, DSQ Software by Rs 145.05 to Rs 2155, Infosys Tech by Rs 861.10 to Rs 9902.95 and MTNL by Rs 11.95 to Rs 284.95.

Ranbaxy, ITC and Grasim also remained subdued. However, Zee Telefilms, RIL, SBI, TELCO, TISCO, NIIT, L&T, HPCL, Glaxo, Castrol and BHEL gained ground.