Market closes firm ahead of vote of confidence

The BSE Sensex wrapped the day on a firm note on expectation that the UPA Government will win the trust vote of confidence. If all goes well, the early election will not happen in India and there will be progress in nuclear deal. FMCG, Power, Metal and Banking stocks were in the limelight today, whereas Auto index was under selling pressure.

The 30-share index Sensex opened flat at 13,837.64, up 12.4 points in the early trades. Later the index gained ground and touched the psychological mark of 14,000.

BSE Midcap rose 1.69% and Smallcap index was up 1.53%.

Reliance Infra, BHEL, ITC, Tata Steel, ACC, SBI, Hindalco were the major contributors in the upward rally.

The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 254.16 points, or 1.84% at 14,104.20 after touching a high of 14,206.13 and a low of 13,798.18. The broad-based NSE Nifty gained 80.6 points, or 1.94% at 4,240.10.

Asian stocks slipped today (July 22) barring Japanese benchmark index Nikkei, on concern of global economic slowdown.

Out of the total 2,657 shares traded at BSE, 1,849 advanced, 734 declined while 74 remained unchanged.

Most of the sectoral indices at BSE closed on a positive note, led by FMCG (4.35%), Power (4.29%), Metal (3.96%), Bankex (3.12%) and Consumer Goods (3.10%). However Auto declined (0.96%).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Reliance Infra, BHEL and ITC, which soared over 6% each to Rs 919.30, Rs 1,597.50 and Rs 189.90 respectively. Cipla, Reliance Comm, Tata Steel, ACC, SBI, Hindalco, HDFC, TCS and L&T were among the other gainers.

On the other hand Maruti (9.29%), Jaiprakash Associates (4.26%) and Bharti Airtel (2.47%) were the major losers in the Senses. DLF and Tata Motors also slipped.

Results

Thermax announced a steady growth in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 2008. During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 13.75% to Rs 637.09 million from Rs 560.10 million in the same quarter, previous year.

Net sales for the quarter rose 7.57% to Rs 7,169.74 million, while total income for the quarter rose 7.52% to Rs 7,271.55 million, when compared with the prior year period.

Lupin reported a substantial rise in its standalone net profit for the first quarter ended June 2008. During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 38.45% to Rs 1,085.20 million from Rs 783.80 million in the same quarter, previous year.

Net sales for the quarter rose 18.39% to Rs 7,124.20 million, while total income for the quarter rose 18.53% to Rs 7,312.30 million, when compared with the prior year period.

IDBI Bank, a leading public sector lender, reported a marginal rise in its standalone net profit for the first quarter ended June 2008.

Interest earned for the quarter went up 34.85% to Rs 24,176.40 million, while total income for the quarter climbed 24.90% to Rs 27,391.20 million, when compared with the prior year period.

NIIT Technologies announced a sharp drop in its standalone net profit for the first quarter ended June 2008. During the quarter, the profit of the company declined 15.34% to Rs 244.40 million from Rs 288.70 million in the same quarter, last year.

Net sales for the quarter jumped 46.22% to Rs 1,242.60 million, while total income for the quarter rose 41.64% to Rs 1,291.60 million, when compared with the prior year period.