Sensex closes above 8300; IT, oil & gas gain

Mumbai, Mar 6:Indian equities bounced back in the last hour of session as traders covered short positions in benchmarks ahead of holidays next week.

Bombay Stock Exchange"s Sensex ended at 8332.82, up 134.90 points or 1.65 per cent. The 30-share index touched a high of 8347.74 and low of 8047.17.

National Stock Exchange"s Nifty closed at 2619.05, up 42.35 points or 1.64 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 2628.10.

BSE Midcap Index was down 0.54 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 0.70 per cent.

Biggest Sensex gainers were HDFC (7.02 pc), Hindalco Industries (4.91pc), Jaiprakash Associates (4.72pc), Tata Steel (4.4pc) and Tata Consultancy Services (3.77pc).

Losers comprised Hindustan Unilever (-3.04pc), Maruti Suzuki (-2.94pc), Ranbaxy Laboratories (-2.35pc), ITC (-1.79pc) and DLF (-1.26pc).
4.19 PM

Sensex flat; IT, capital goods scrips gain

Indian benchmark indices were witnessing a choppy session on Friday as traders lacked conviction in the market. IT and capital goods stocks showed some resilience while FMCG and healthcare stocks declined.

At 1:10 pm, Bombay Stock Exchange"s Sensex was at 8211.46, up 13.54 points or 0.17 per cent. The index touched a high of 8264.58 and low of 8047.17

National Stock Exchange"s Nifty was at 2579.80, up 3.1 points or 0.12 per cent. The broader index hit a high of 2591.80 and a low of 2539.45.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.29 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 1.54 per cent. Amongst sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was up 1.13 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index moved 0.87 per cent up. BSE FMCG Index fell 1.81 per cent and BSE Healthcare Index was down 1.66 per cent.
Jaiprakash Associates (2.1%), Larsen & Toubro (1.8pc), Infosys Technologies (1.37pc), Wipro (1.33pc) and Reliance Communications (1.25pc) were the biggest Sensex gainers.
2.30PM

Mkts recover led by banks, IT, metal

The markets have bounced back and are trading marginally lower amid volatility. Financial, technology, metal, capital goods stocks and Reliance Communication are witnessing buying interest.

However, the sell-off continues in FMCG, cement stocks and in stocks like Bharti Airtel, Maruti, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Tata Power, DLF and Ranbaxy.

Nifty March futures were trading with 10-16 points discount. The Sensex was trading at 8,258, up 60 points and the Nifty was at 2,589, up 13 points, at 11:35 hours IST. Broader indices like BSE Midcap and Small cap fell 0.9-1 pc.

Edserv Softsystems is locked at 20 pc lower circuit for the fourth day in a row and has also slipped below its issue price of Rs 60 a share. It lost over 60 pc from its all-time high of Rs 147.90, which it touched on Monday.

Market breadth is weak due to decline in broader indices; about 1072 shares have advanced while 1810 shares declined. Nearly 168 shares are unchanged.
12.22 PM

Stocks extend losses; ICICI Bank drags

Stocks opened lower on Friday, Mar 6 as weak global cues weighed on sentiment. Ranbaxy Laboratories and ICICI Bank were the worst hit in early trade. Realty and banks continued to be under pressure.

Bombay Stock Exchange"s 30-share Sensex lost 118 points to 8078.98. National Stock Exchange"s benchmark Nifty fell 28.85 points or 1.12 per cent to 2547.85 from Thursday"s close.

US equities slid to 12-year lows on Thursday as General Motors' warning of possible bankruptcy and concerns about the banking system's fate reinforced investors' reluctance to take on risk.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 281.40 points, or 4.09 percent, to end at 6,594.44, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 30.32 points, or 4.25 per cent, to 682.55 and the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 54.15 points, or 4.00 per cent, to 1,299.59, its lowest close since March 2003.

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