After yesterday's sharp decline, indices turned volatile today. Helped by a firm trend in other Asian markets, the indices opened with gains but soon slipped into the red.

Frontline stocks recovered by noon as other Asian markets remained firm and Europe opened with modest gains. After another drop in mid-afternoon trades, the indices firmed up again and closed near their day's highs.

Sensex closed with gains of 109 points at 10151 and the Nifty gained 39 points to close at 2982. Nifty June futures ended at a discount of 8 points to the spot index.

Engineering and capital goods stocks had a very good session. Suzlon Energy ended the day with gains of close to 9 per cent. Siemens added over 4 per cent and ABB closed nearly 3.5 per cent higher.

VSNL was the biggest gainer among index stocks, ending the day with massive gains of 9.5 per cent.

Steel stocks surged in afternoon trades, helped by a global rally in steel stocks. SAIL added more than 6 per cent while Tata Steel gained nearly 4.5 per cent.

ITC was the big gainer among FMCG stocks, ending nearly 6 per cent higher. HLL added 3 per cent.

HDFC bounced back strongly from yesterday's decline and closed nearly 4.5 per cent higher.

Reliance Industries was firm for most of the session, but gave up part of the gains and closed nearly 0.5 per cent higher.

Among technology stocks, Infosys and Satyam added nearly 2.5 per cent each. Wipro ended over 2 per cent higher while TCS added more than 0.5 per cent.

Among other major gainers, Tata Power added 5.5 per cent while Sun Pharma ended almost 4.5 per cent higher.

Select banking stocks remained weak today as well. OBC was the biggest loser among index stocks, closing more than 3.5 per cent lower. HDFC Bank, one of the major gainers yesterday, ended more than 2.5 per cent lower.

Jet Airways gave up another 3 per cent on speculation that the airline may opt for an out of court settlement with Air Sahara, which may involve a cash pay out.

Ranbaxy gave up more than 2.5 per cent after the US FDA issued a notice to the company for violation of standards at one of its manufacturing facilities. Among other pharma stocks, Cipla lost 1.5 per cent.

MTNL was another major stock extending its losses from yesterday and ended nearly 3 per cent lower.

BHEL lost 2 per cent despite the up trend in other engineering and capital goods stocks.

Maruti, Reliance Energy and IPCL were among the other losers.

Global markets / crude oil
Announcement of a couple of major corporate takeovers helped the US markets yesterday, despite the uncertainty over interest rates. The Dow and S&P 500 indices closed with gains of 0.5 per cent each while the NASDAQ added nearly 0.6 per cent.

Asian markets were mixed for the second day, as investors remain concerned about interest rates. South Korea gained more than 0.75 per cent while Shanghai, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand ended with modest gains. Singapore and Hong Kong ended with modest losses.

Crude oil prices ended with strong gains on fresh concerns of violence in the Middle East and on tough posturing by Iran. Near month NYMEX futures settled at $71.8 per barrel yesterday. The commodity is trading above $72 per barrel in early European trades today.

Mid-Cap Action
Mid-caps and small caps remained weak for the second day, despite the recovery in larger stocks. They opened weak and lost substantial ground before noon as most of the gainers from last week remained under pressure. Though they recovered from their lows later in the afternoon, they still ended the day with losses.

The CNX Mid-Cap index ended with losses of 24 points, or 0.64 per cent, to end the day at 3824. Market breadth on the NSE was highly negative for most part of the day.

BSE mid-cap index lost 0.99 per cent and the BSE small cap index gave up 1.89 per cent today.

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, GTN Industries, Nocil, Entertainment Network and Sintex were among the mid-cap gainers.

Shriram City Union Finance, Eurotex Industries, REI Agro, Simbhaoli Sugar, Sutlej Industries, Panacea Biotech and Hotel Leela were among the major mid-cap losers.

*Disclaimer: The author may have positions in some of the stocks specifically mentioned above at the time of writing this article. This analysis / report is only for the purpose of information and is not an investment advice. Readers are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before taking any investment decisions. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in the content the author or publisher shall not be held responsible for any loss caused to any person whatsoever.

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