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Infy, ITC, MTNL provide the thrust

B. Krishnakumar

CLOSE on the heels of a 142-point rise on Monday, the Sensex gained 69.16 points on Tuesday to end at 5589.85 points. After dipping to the day's low of 5525.89 points, the Sensex recovered ground towards the close of the day's trading.

Amongst the Sensex constituents, Infosys Technologies, ITC and MTNL were the top gainers. The share price of Infosys Technologies went up by eight per cent to close at Rs. 12,789.75.

The ITC stock firmed up by about eight per cent to settle at Rs. 784.05. Reports that the company's software subsidiary, ITC Infotech, has entered into a tie-up with ExpandIT of Denmark appears to have boosted market sentiment towards ITC.

NIIT, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Hindalco Industries were the major losers amongst the Sensex constituents.

The share price of NIIT declined by Rs. 60 to settle at Rs. 2,245 while the Ranbaxy stock eased by Rs. 59 to Rs. 679.

Though the Sensex posted a gain of around 69 points, the overall advance-decline ratio painted a different picture. Of the 30 Sensex stocks, only nine companies saw an increase in their share price while the share price of 21 companies posted a decline d uring Tuesday's trading.

Tuesday's trading pattern was no different from the trend that has been prevalent for quite some time now. The stocks from the telecom and information technology sectors continue to attract market attention while the companies from the core sector and ec onomy-related sectors were at the receiving end.

In the telecom sector, the share price of Himachal Futuristic, Global Tele-Systems and MTNL managed to close on a firm note.

The share price of Himachal Futuristic firmed up by Rs. 173.85 to close at Rs. 2,415. Trading volumes in the counter declined to 42.58 lakh shares from 74.38 lakh shares transacted the previous day.

Reports that the company has tied up with Kerry Packer (owner of Australia's Channel Nine television network) buoyed market sentiment towards the stock. The company is set to allot about 7.1 million shares at a price of Rs. 1,450 per share to Kerry Packe r.

Apart from the telecom and IT stocks, a few cement companies attracted market attention during Tuesday's trading. The share price of ACC, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and Madras Cements closed on a firm note. The increase in cement dispatches during February c oupled with the reports of a hike in cement price appears to have pushed up the share price of these companies.

After having been battered in the recent weeks, the share price of Madras Cements increased by Rs. 132 to settle at Rs. 4,000. From 902 shares transacted on Monday, the trading volumes rose to 1,286 shares on Tuesday.

The share price of Apollo Tyres went up by almost eight per cent to Rs. 118. Trading volumes improved to 2.49 lakh shares from 1.54 lakh shares. Over the last couple of weeks, the share price of the company has declined by Rs. 68.20 to close at Rs. 109.3 0 on Monday.

Grasim Industries was a notable loser from the cement sector. After having ruled firm even amidst the post-Budget landslide, the stock declined by Rs. 27.25 to close at Rs. 345 on Tuesday. The trading volumes declined to 1.23 lakh shares from 1.58 lakh s hares.

While the top-line software stocks such as Satyam, Mastek and Infosys Technologies closed on a firm note, Wipro was a notable loser from the software sector. The share price of the company eased to Rs. 6,632.50, down by Rs. 345.90 from Monday's close of Rs. 6,978.40. Trading volumes dried up to 59,058 shares from 1,02,465 shares.

Apart from Wipro, Rolta India, Crest Communications, Orient Information and Krone Communications were the other prominent losers of the day's trading.

After posting a sharp rise in the previous fortnight, the share price of Krone Communications declined by four per cent to close at Rs. 706.95. In the last 15 trading days, the share price of the company has increased by 59 per cent to settle at Rs. 737. 90 on Monday.