Dalal Street greets New Year with a gain of 12.84 points

Bulls ushered in year 2003 on a cheerful note on Dalal Street. Shares closed up on Wednesday as expectations of higher offshore inflows kept...

Bulls ushered in year 2003 on a cheerful note on Dalal Street. Shares closed up on Wednesday as expectations of higher offshore inflows kept the sentiment firm on New Year while refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp jumped on hopes of a favourable decision on its asset sale.

The benchmark Sensex finished up 12.84 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 3,390.12 as against 3377.28. But volume dropped to 54.6 million shares, the lowest in the past week as gainers outnumbered losers three to two. “The undertone is bullish and the market expects fireworks in the run up to quarterly results of tech companies,” said a dealer, adding, “Traders are also betting on strong foreign inflows.”

Though Sensex ended almost steady on Tuesday (December 31), the index had gained 115 points during the full year of 2002. “Budget and disinvestment will the key drivers of the market in the next two or three months,” said BSE dealer Pawan Dharnidharka.

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HPCL jumped 6.4 per cent to Rs 306.35 on market talk the attorney general may give a favourable opinion on its privatisation row. Other state firms rallied on hopes that the divestment process may revive. BPCL gained 3.8 per cent to Rs 224.90, Nalco climbed about three per cent to Rs 95.35 and Engineers India Ltd tacked on 4.4 per cent to Rs 295.35. Software bellwether Infosys Technologies gained 0.5 percent to Rs 4,792.50 and Wipro Ltd rose 1.6 per cent to Rs 1,657.25.

Hero Honda Motors fell 3.9 per cent to Rs 260.90 after its December sales rose merely 2.1 per cent from a year ago. But Bajaj Auto added 1.2 per cent to Rs 508.55 after its motorbike sales in December rose 10.6 per cent from a year ago.