Monday April 22, 01:30 PM
Heavyweight fuels Sensex... |
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By Equitymaster.com
The index heavyweight, HLL has pushed up the Sensex, adding 17 points to the overall gains of the index. Reliance (RELI.BO, news) and Infosys are also supporting the index at lower levels. The activity in old economy stocks is lacklustre. Cement, auto and commodity stocks out of flavour.
The BSE Sensex is at 3,382 (up 18 points) and the NSE Nifty is at 1,102 (up 2 points). The rupee is trading at Rs 48.90 per US dollar.
SmithKline Consumer declared flat revenue growth and a marginal rise of 3% in net profits for the first quarter ended March 2002. The company however, managed to improve its operating margins by over 400 basis points. Its continuous cost control initiatives helped to achieve one of the highest operating margins of 25%, among its peers in the FMCG sector. The company's stock is down by 2.5%.
Software stocks continue to trade in red. Hughes Software, HCL (HCLL.BO, news) Tech and Visualsoft (VISO.BO, news) are expected to declare its quarterly results today. These stocks are under heavy selling pressure ahead of the results.
Private banking stocks are up selectively. IDBI Bank (IDBK.BO, news) is in limelight (up 1.7%). IDBI (IDBI.BO, news) 's decision for keeping its banking arm as a separate entity, instead of going for de-merger is attracting investors towards the stock.
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