Post Market Commentary - March 24 2008

Sensex garners 295 points in volatile trade

However, the market breadth was weak indicating that confidence is low among investors. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks slumped, which was clearly reflected in the poor market breadth. Banking and IT stocks were in demand. Metal and power stocks declined. 22 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack ended in green.

The market sentiment remained edgy on reports Monsoon Capital LLC, a $1.20 billion hedge fund firm run by Gautam Prakash, has been hit hard by a slump in Indian stocks this year. The news may trigger more redemptions from hedge funds with higher exposure to India, reports suggest.

BSE Sensex rose 294.57 points or 1.96% at 15,289.40.

S&P Nifty rose 35.9 points or 0.78% at 4609.85.

As per provisional data, foreign funds bought shares worth a net Rs 376.13 crore today. Domestic funds sold shares worth a net Rs 253.27 crore.

India's second biggest real estate developer by market capitalisation Unitech declined 5.24% to Rs 253.30, off session’s high of Rs 279.70. Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank are reportedly set to make a combined investment of $500 million in Unitech's special purpose vehicle formed to execute two commercial projects in Mumbai.

Refrigerant gases maker Gujarat Fluorochemicals jumped 3.35% to Rs 185 after its board approved the proposal to buyback equity at a ceiling price of Rs 300 per share.

Drug maker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained 1.48% to Rs 1279.10 after it received an approval from US Food and Drug Administration for the abbreviated new drug application to market a generic of Parke Davis's Cerebyx, fosphenytoin sodium injection.

Textiles firm S.Kumars Nationwide slumped 26.74% to 83.70 after 7.10 lakh shares changed hands on BSE at Rs 110 and 5.02 lakh shares changed hands on NSE at Rs 88.50 each.

Sujana Towers, manufacturer of galvanized steel towers, slumped 9.33% at Rs 86.05 after the firm said Morgan Stanley & Co International Mauritius acquired a further 3.85% stake in the company to raise its total holding to 7.04%.

Edible oils maker KS Oils fell 2.83% to Rs 61.90 even as some reports suggested that the firm sees revenue rising to Rs 3200 crore and expects net profit of Rs 200 crore in full year (FY) 2009 due to a rise in demand, following import duty cuts in mustard oil. Indian government on Thursday, 20 March 2008 announced a cut in import duty on some edible oils to improve supplies and rein in inflation that touched a 10-month high.