Sensex and Nifty back into positive terrain

Mumbai, July 26: Strong buying momentum in auto, pharma and information technology (IT) scrips following a healthy rollover of derivative positions aided the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex today to rebound by 76.98 points and settle on positive territory at 15,776.31.

''The Sensex had closed in the red yesterday, following five straight sessions of rally. Today, it was firm in the first half of the day following a healthy rollover of derivative positions from this month's series to next month's series. But it tripped in mid-afternoon session due to profit-booking. Shares from auto, pharma and IT, were in demand, while cement, banking and capital goods stocks, edged lower.

Sugar stocks spiked couple of minutes before closing bell, on some favourable announcement for the sector,'' market analysts summed up.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty also advanced by 31.10 points to settle in the green at 4,619.80 from it's previous close of 4,588.70, after opening higher at 4,593.10 and moving between 4,624.30 and 4,570.80 during the day's session.

''The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised upwards its growth projections for the global economy, citing accelerating growth in India, China and Russia, while the US appears to be regaining momentum. The IMF's updated World Economic Outlook forecast global growth of 5.2 per cent for both, this year and next year, up from its earlier forecast of 4.9 per cent growth for both years,'' market pundits pointed out.

BSE data showed that the market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, held firm as small-cap and mid-cap stocks saw continued buying interest. 1,558 shares while 1,100 declined and 73 remained unchanged. The total turnover amounted to Rs 5,719 crore. Among the 30-scrip Sensex pack, 18 gained while the rest declined.

''Auto stocks advanced on fresh buying interest in anticipation that sales will pick up after monsoon, generally a slack season. IT pivotals rose on news-based buying despite the Indian rupee heading towards a nine-year high today in anticipation of strong capital inflow. Cement shares declined for the second straight day on fresh selling following reports that the goverment is easing cement import norms in an attempt to rein in prices. Bank shares drifted lower on selling pressure. Sugar stocks spiked couple of minutes before closing bell, on some favourable announcement for the sector,'' market participants said.

Ranbaxy Laboratories, Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra&Mahindra, Maruti Udyog, Infosys Technologies, TCS, Wipro, Satyam Computers and Reliance Industries (REL) were the day's leaders, while ACC, Ambuja Cements, BHEL, L&T, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI and ITC were the main laggards.

The market witnessed high volatility today on the expiry of the futures&options (F&O) contracts. As per latest data, marketwide rollover from this month's contracts to next month's contracts stood at 60 per cent, while Nifty rollover was 61 per cent.

The total open interest in NSE's futures and option (F&O) segment vaulted to an all-time record of Rs 1,02,247.50 crore yesterday from Rs 94,285.34 crore on tuesday.

In early morning trade, the Rupee was at 40.31/32 per US dollar, strengthening from the previous close of 40.3500/3575 and inching towards from a nine-year high of 40.20, hit earlier this week, dealers said.

India's largest drug manufacturer Ranbaxy Laboratories jumped 9.95 per cent to Rs 375 on 19.34 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. The stock rose after Ranbaxy reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to end their litigation in the US on Valtrex (valacyclovir hydrochloride tablets), used in the treatment of herpes.

Maruti Udyog vaulted 3.38 per cent to Rs 837 after India's biggest small car maker today reported a 35.1 per cent growth to Rs 499.60 crore in net profit in first quaterly (Q1) June 2007 over the corresponding period last fiscal. Net sales were up 26 per cent at Rs 3,930.82 crore. Maruti Udyog will be renamed as Maruti Suzuki India.

India's second largest software services exporter Infosys Technologies gained 1.81 per cent to Rs 2,026 after it bagged an USD 250-million (around Rs 1,010 crore) contract from Royal Philips Electronics. It is one of the largest acquisition-cum-outsourcing deal by an Indian information technology firm.

The country's biggest private sector company Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 1.92 per cent to Rs 1,940, after striking an all-time high of Rs 1,948.

Top cellular services provider Bharti Airtel dropped 2.30 per cent to Rs 925 on profit taking even as it reported robust Q1 June 2007 results. Bharti Airtel's consolidated net profit as per US GAAP jumped 100 per cent to Rs 1,511.60 crore in Q1 June 2007 over Q1 June 2006, exceeding market expectations. Revenue rose 53 per cent to Rs 5,904.60 crore in Q1 June 2007 over corresponding period last year. Revenue growth was within market expectations. The stock had hit an all-time high of Rs 960 in early trade, market participants said.

Japanese shares fell today. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.88 per cent at 17,702.09, while Hang Seng declined 0.64 per cent to 23,211.69.

China's main stock index reached a new high on opening today on strong corporate earnings. The Shanghai Composite Index opened higher and hit 4,357.796, breaching the previous high of 4,335.96 set on May 29, this year. It was up 0.52 per cent to 4,346.51.

European markets were trading slight weaker today.

Wall Street rose yesterday on some strong earnings and new deals, but not without a struggle, as mounting signs of a tougher lending climate again dogged investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 68.12 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 13,785.07. Broader stock indicators also rose in shaky trading. The Standard&Poor's 500 index climbed 7.05 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 1,518.09, and the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 8.31 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 2,648.17.

Crude oil rose today for the second day in New York after a report showed US oil inventories fell for a third week and gasoline demand was near a one-year high. Crude oil for September 2007 delivery gained as much as 50 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to USD 76.38 in after- hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at USD 76.17 in Singapore, dealers said.

UNI