Flat end to a volatile session

Wed, 11 Jan Closing

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   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   11:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

Volatility continued to make its strong presence felt in the final hours as well. And while indices in the Indian stock market recovered from their day's lows, all they could manage at the end was a flat closing. Both Sensex as well as NSE-Nifty edged higher by only about 10 points. BSE Mid cap and BSE Small cap indices however stole the show from their larger counterparts and gained nearly 1% each. Advance to decline ratio on the BSE-Sensex came pretty close to 1 today with there being as many gainers as losers.

Most Asian indices closed in the green today with Europe too trading higher currently. The rupee was trading at Rs 52.9 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Although the Sensex is perched above the 16k mark currently, there remains a big question mark whether this is sustainable and whether the index will go still higher from the current levels in the near term. With the kind of risk aversion that is on view right now, a lower or a near flat Sensex in the near term looks more a possibility than a higher Sensex. After all, we do not seem to be out of the woods yet both domestically as well as internationally. For the long term investor though, the opportunity in blue chips amongst other stocks should be taken full advantage of we believe.

With 5% gains, Hindustan Aluminium Company (Hindalco) emerged as the best performer amongst the Sensex stocks today. The positive sentiment emerged in view of its subsidiary Novelis renewing its contract with Coca-Cola Bottlers' Sales & Services Company (CCBSS). The two companies have signed a multi-year agreement for the supply of aluminium can sheet. A note released by Novelis said that the agreement covers the supply of aluminium can body stock, can end stock and can tab stock to the various producers of beverage cans for Coca-Cola in North America. This renewal agreement assumes importance in the backdrop of CCBSS filing a case against Novelis in 2007 on grounds of breach of contract. With both the players deciding to bury the hatchet and forget past differences, Novelis could be in for some good times ahead.

As per reports, Maharashtra Seamless, one of India's largest manufacturer of seamless pipes, has commissioned a 5 MW solar power project in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan. The company was one of the allottees under the Jawaharlal National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The plant is expected to generate close to 10 m units of electricity annually. It should be noted that Maharashtra Seamless is already in the field of renewable energy and is operating 20 wind mills producing 7 MW power in the state of Maharashtra. The stock closed flat today.