Mid-cap software stocks rally

The market regained strength in late-afternoon trade, as buying resumed at lower level. Earlier today, it opened firm but slipped in the negative zone in mid-morning trade on profit booking. Some volatility was witnessed at higher levels. This is the eight straight session of gains for the market. Mid-cap software stocks rallied on fresh buying. European and Asian markets were trading lower today, 4 September 2007.
At 14:42 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 74.87 points, or 0.50%, to 15,498.75. It opened higher at 15,482.13 and advanced further to hit a high of 15,521.48. The index touched a low of 15,389.62 so far during the day.
The S&P CNX Nifty was up 11.05 points, or 0.25%, to 4,486.
The market breadth was strong on BSE, with 1,754 shares advancing as compared to 942 that declined, while 64 remained unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index moved up 0.77% to 6,772.10, while the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.90% to 8,268.04. Both were market outperformers.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3810 crore by 14:30 IST as compared to Rs 3168 crore by 13:30 IST
Shares from mid-cap software sector surged on renewed buying. Take Solutions (up 14.37% to Rs 1031), Nucleus Software Exports (up 8.60% to Rs 382.65), Mastek (up 6.30% to Rs 279), Polaris Software (up 1.06% to Rs 120.55), Prithvi Info (up 5.11% to Rs 289.50), and Subex System (up 2.90% to Rs 572), surged.
From the 30-member Sensex pack, 16 declined while the rest advanced.
India’s largest private sector power utility in terms of net profit Reliance Energy soared 6.83% to Rs 830 on 19.48 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack.
India’s third largest pharma company by sales Cipla advanced 4.77% to Rs 180.15 on 12.25 lakh shares. The stock has lost 33.46% in the past one year from Rs 258.40 on 4 September 2006 to Rs 171.95 on 3 September 2007.
India’s top private sector housing finance company in terms of net profit Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) rose 2.11% to Rs 2042.50, on reports that it does not plan to cut home loan rates as of now
India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales, Larsen & Toubro rose 1.51% to Rs 2627 after it received two contracts worth Rs 267 crore. The contracts have been bagged from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and China-based Liaoning Huajin Chemical Corporation for their expansion projects.
India’s largest private sector company and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 0.68% to Rs 1968.80 on 4.15 lakh shares. RIL has reportedly expressed its interest in acquiring a 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refinery (KPRL). KPRL is one of Kenya's oldest refinery complexes with an annual capacity of four million tonnes.
IT pivotals were firm. Infosys (up 1.45% to Rs 1888.35), TCS (up 1.53% to Rs 1075), and Satyam Computers (up 0.22% to Rs 450.90) gained. However Wipro lost 1.40% to Rs 468.80
Rupee was hovering at 40.94 against dollar, weaker than to Monday (3 September 2007)’s close of 40.885/895.
Cement shares rallied on strong dispatches for the month of August 2007. ACC (up 3.72%to Rs 1110.90), India Cements (up 7% to Rs 267.85), UltraTech Cement Company (up 4.62% to Rs 989.80), Birla Corporation (up 4% to Rs 308.10) and Ambuja Cements (up 2.50% to Rs 137.50), surged.
India's top bus and truck maker Tata Motors slipped 2.27% to Rs 687 on 2.72 lakh shares after it reported a 0.4% fall in sales to 45,144 units in August 2007 over August 2006. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack
Hindalco Industries (down 1.62% to Rs 157.80), NTPC (down 1.16% to Rs 183.50) and Bharti Airtel (down 1.08% to Rs 862) were the other losers from the Sensex pack.
Parenteral Drugs (India) surged 5% to Rs 198 after board its board recommended a 1:1 bonus issue. The company also said it proposes to issue equity shares on rights basis. Terms of the right issue will be finalized in due course.
Valecha Engineering rose 2.45% to Rs 293 after it fixed 5 October 2007 as the record date for the issue of bonus shares in the ratio 1:2.
Onward Technologies gained 4.80% to Rs 40.40 after signing agreement with John Deere India to set up dedicated engineering design services centre in Pune.
European markets which opened after Indian market, edged lower. Key benhcmark indices in London (down 0.12% to 6,307.50), Germany (down 0.04% to 7,645.51) and France (down 0.55% to 5,620.11) declined.
Most of the Asian markets were trading lower today, 4 September 2007. Japan's Nikkei (down 0.63% at 16,420.47), Hang Seng (down 0.08% at 23,886.07) Shanghai Composite (down 0.51% to 5,294.90), Singapore's Straits Times (down 0.30% to 3,376.06), South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 0.36% to 1,875.05), and Taiwan Weighted (down 0.63% at 8,922.68) slipped.
US markets remained closed yesterday, 3 September 2007 for Labor Day holiday.
As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 418.07 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 16.52 crore on Monday, 3 September 2007.
Crude oil paused near a four-week high in New York on signs a hurricane in the Caribbean may weaken and break up without disrupting production in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude oil for October 2007 delivery was at $74.13 a barrel, up 9 cents, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 103.45 points, or 0.68%, to 15,422.05, on Monday, 3 September 2007. The S&P CNX Nifty was up 10.75 points, or 0.24%, to 4,474.75 on that day.
The Sensex surged 1,258 points, or 8.83%, in seven trading sessions, from 14,163.98 on 23 August 2007 to 15,422.05 on 3 September 2007.