First day trade of 2006 ends flat

New Delhi: The markets closed flat after volatile session on first trading day of 2006. It opened on a positive note and the Sensex touched an all-time high. However, selling pressure was witnessed in the afternoon trade.

The market opened on a positive note and the Sensex touched an all-time high but selling pressure was witnessed in the afternoon trade.

The Sensex closed down 7.79 points at 9390.14. It touched an all-time high of 9457.09.

The BSE Small Cap Index closed up 84.45 points or 1.42 per cent at 6027.56. The BSE Midcap Index closed up 57.86 points or 1.31 per cent at 4484.89.

The Nifty closed down 0.60 point at 2835.95. It touched an intraday high of 2849.45 and an intraday low of 2825.40.

The CNX Midcap Index closed up 26.25 points or 0.65 per cent at 4056.70. It touched an all-time high of 4063.90.

The market breadth was positive, about 1796 shares advanced, 690 shares declined, and 48 shares remained unchanged.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs 263 crore in F&O and Rs 378 crore in Nifty Futures on December 30.

ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Nalco, Tata Chemicals, ONGC, and Maruti were the biggest index gainers.

Tata Motors, BPCL, Bharti Tele, Hero Honda, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Grsim were the biggest index losers.

Analysts believe that the markets are in good shape, accompanied by a lot of factors, and they enter the New Year with a lot of optimism. They add that in the long-term the markets trend is up, and in the near-term till Nifty is above 2750 level, it looks positive.

The BSE Bankex closed up 0.94 per cent at 5129.63 as buying was seen in ICICI Bank, Andhra Bank, PNB, Allahabad Bank and HDFC Bank.

Oil stocks like MRPL, ONGC, BPCL and Reliance also surged. The BSE Oil & Gas Index closed up 0.91 per cent at 4450.62.

Metal stocks like Sterlite Industries, Hindustan Zinc, Nalco, Hindalco, Jindal Stainless and Gujarat NRE Coke also ended in the green. The BSE Metal Index closed up 0.78 per cent at 6535.56.

Buying was also seen in consumer durables stocks like Su-Raj Diamonds, Samtel Color, Whirlpool and Mirc Electronic. The BSE Consumer Durables Index closed up 0.78 per cent at 3296.74.

Select buying was seen in capital goods stocks. The BSE Capital Goods Index closed up 0.10 per cent at 5816.68.

Selling however was seen in FMCG stocks like Nirma, HLL, ITC and Nestle. The BSE FMCG Index closed down 0.69 per cent at 1636.10.

Technology stocks like HCL Info, Satyam, TCS, Infosys and Patni Computer also ended lower. The BSE IT Index closed down 0.59 per cent at 3720.48.

Auto stocks like Tata Motors, Hero Honda, MICO, M&M, TVS Motor, Exide Industries and Bharat Forge also lost ground. The BSE Auto Index closed down 0.54 per cent at 4,233.31.

Selling was seen in pharma stocks like Dr Reddy's Labs, Glenmark, GSK Pharma, Cipla, Cadila Health and Matrix Lab.