Indian shares close flat in choppy trade; Hindalco leads metal stocks' gains
MUMBAI, Jul 10, 2008 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- By Staff Reporter
Indian shares closed little changed on Thursday in choppy trade and amid mixed cues from Asian indices after overnight losses on Wall Street. The markets recouped some of its losses dring the day on buying at lower levels.
India's main stock index, the benchmark 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange, closed down 38.02 points, or 0.27 percent, at 13,926.24 points and the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange closed up 5.10 points, or 0.12 percent, at 4,162.20 points.
Among the 30 benchmark equities, 14 advanced led by Asia's biggest aluminium producer Hindalco Industries Ltd., which surged 5.49 percent to 153.65 rupees, followed by India's biggest cement maker ACC Ltd., which rose 3.12 percent to 552.80 rupees.
Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro Ltd. closed up 0.74 percent at 2,531.65 rupees and Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (ONGC) gained 0.51 percent to 881.45 rupees.
India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. closed down 3.56 percent at 567.70 rupees followed by diversified consumer goods company ITC Ltd., which dipped 2.34 percent to 179.20 rupees.
The heaviest Sensex constituent Reliance Industries Ltd. declined 1.72 percent to 2,044.10 rupees and top private lender ICICI Bank Ltd. shed 0.83 percent to 616.75 rupees.
Software bellwether Infosys Technologies Ltd., which will report its first-quarter figures on Friday, closed down 0.82 percent at 1,806.20 rupees while State bank of India, India's biggest lender, fell 0.34 percent to 1,234.25 rupees.
Among the 13 sector indices on the Bombay Stock Exchange, only the metals and public sector unit indices advanced. The metals gauge closed up 2.5 percent and the public sector gauge, a group of majority state-owned companies, advanced 1.79 percent. The auto index declined the most, falling 1.12 percent.
In the broader market, 1,453 stocks gained while 1,171 declined on volume of 297.8 million shares.
Breadth was positive among the Nifty shares, with 28 of the 50 stocks advancing. Majority state-owned aluminium producer National Aluminium Co. Ltd. (Nalco) gained the most, soaring 8.68 percent to 360.45 rupees. Top two-wheeler maker Hero Honda Ltd. fell the most, slipping 3.73 percent to 688.60 rupees. TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com aka/alo
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