In choppy trade, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today ended about 37 points higher as a surge in blue-chips - Tata Motors and Reliance Infra - prevented a heavy fall due to profit booking.
Heavyweight Reliance Industries gained handsome five per cent in early trade after the company announced yesterday 1:1 bonus shares to stakeholders for the first time in 12 years.
However, the shares failed to hold on to the gains and ended with a marginal rise of less than 1 per cent.
The 30-share index, which commenced higher, closed the day at 16,843.54, up by 36.88 points from the previous close. It briefly touched the day’s low of 16,775.36 on profit selling.
Tata Steel rose smartly on expectations of better revenue as company announced a rise in sale this quarter.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty added 16.50 points up at 5,002.25.
Marketmen said inflation easing to 0.70 per cent for the week ended September 26 had morale —boosting effect on investors, who looked set to book profit at higher levels.
Among the 30-BSE index stocks, 22 stocks ended in positive zone while eight closed lower.
The market was also partly supported by a firming trend in Asian and global bourses.
Buying activity spilled over a wide-front as midcap index rose by 0.73 per cent to 6,341.19 and smallcap index by 0.21 per cent to 7,422.34.
The realty sector index rose by 2.21 per cent to 4,429.68 followed by FMCG by 1.76 per cent to 2,750.05. Auto rose by 1.53 per cent to 6,554.74, metal by 1.34 per cent to 14,676.78, power by 1.25 per cent to 3,125.66, healthcare by 0.90 per cent to 4,451.86 and oil and gas by 0.88 per cent to 10,250.55. Also, consumer durable rose by 0.86 per cent to 3,655.66, bank by 0.83 per cent to 9,913.79 and PSU by 0.81 per cent to 8,957.37.
The communication segment stocks continued to remain under pressure, with market leader Bharti Airtel down by 6.61 per cent to Rs 334.65.
Kotak Securities reiterated its “cautious” view on the sector and its “reduce” rating on Bharti. Bharti has lost 20 per cent this week and is the only stock among the 30 Sensex members to decline this year to date.
Reliance Communications, the second-largest mobile phone operator, dropped 6.01 per cent to Rs 246.30, also extending its decline this week to 20 per cent.
A firming rupee against the US dollar also influenced trading in software exporting company’s stocks, which fell over concerns of decline in revenue.
