Sensex hits 13,800

Puneet Wadhwa

Monday, November 27, 2006 (Mumbai):

The markets ended firm on Monday with the benchmark index surging 70 points to close at 13,773 levels.In the broader markets, the Nifty gained 0.5 per cent or 18 points to end the day at 3968 levels.“The markets are being driven higher by pure momentum. It is advisable not to go short. The Nifty can go up further,” said Ambareesh Baliga, VP, Karvy Stock Broking."The markets are expected to be choppy. The Nifty should trade between 3850-3950 levels till Thursday," said Vishal Jain, F&O Analyst, Karvy Stock Broking.Gujarat Ambuja Cements, which surged 3.4 per cent, was the biggest gainer among BSE 30 scrips. ACC, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Wipro Ltd, Reliance Communication, ONGC, SBI, Hindalco, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Auto were the other key gainers.However, Dr Reddy's, HLL, Cipla Ltd, BHEL, Reliance Industries, Ranbaxy, Hero Honda and Infosys Technologies closed in the red.Consumer durables gainConsumer durables index was the biggest gainer among sectoral indices. It moved up two per cent or 66 points. Su-Raj Diamonds (up 7.6 per cent) and Blue Star (up 3.7 per cent) were the key gainers.In the banking space, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Andhra Bank, HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce firmed up.Metals shineHindustan Zinc (up 5.9 per cent), Jindal Saw (up 2.3 per cent), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2 per cent), Sterlite Industries (up1.6 per cent) and Hindalco up by a per cent, closed in positive territory.Among cement stocks, India Cements, Birla Corp, Chettinad Cement, Mangalam Cement, Grasim Industries, and JK Cements gained ground besides Gujarat Ambuja Cements and ACC.New listingLanco Infratech made its debut on the bourses on Monday. The stock listed at Rs 270 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as against the Initial Public Offer (IPO) price of Rs 240. It is ended the day at Rs 241 levels by close of trading session.The company plans to utilise the proceeds of the issue to augment resource-mobilizing programme.The investment in power companies is pegged at Rs 951.8 crore, while the investment in property development is pegged at Rs 28.1 crore.