The market ended higher on Friday, after a subdued start, helped by renewed buying in select New Economy and heavyweight stocks.

Down 21 points at one point of time, the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex) settled with a gain of 30.50 points at 3,250.38.

The NSE S & P CNX Nifty Index rose by 7.25 points to close at 1,041.85.

The market bounced back into the positive zone in mid-morning trades as share prices recovered, after a weak opening. While heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ITC, Hindustan Lever etc gained ground on selective buying, tech stocks also contributed to the gains in the Sensex. Old Economy and defensive sector stocks displayed a mixed trend. Activity was also observed on select side counters.

While the undertone of the market remained cautious amid the fears of an imminent US-Iraq war, the inflow of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) has been on the rise on the Indian bourses. FIIs put in a net Rs 58.60 crore on Wednesday as against an outflow of Rs 43.70 crore on Tuesday and Rs 1.10 crore on Monday. Cumulatively, FIIs have pumped in a net Rs 798.10 crore, or $ 165.80 million, in the current month (till 29 January 2003).

Players said that after the expiry of January 2003 futures contracts, investors are taking fresh positions in February and March 2003 series contracts. At the same time, the margin-related selling pressure has also eased of late. Besides, FIIs were believed to be active in blue-chip stocks.

Meanwhile, dealers said the buying support for stocks was also on account of easing of selling pressure from Unit Trust of India (UTI) (which was facing tremendous redemption pressure) after reports that its flagship US-64 scheme, which will be traded as a five-year, tax free, tradable bond instrument, is targeting high net worth individuals and institutional investors. Reports reveal that the bond will carry a coupon in the 6-6.5% range.

Zee Telefilms (up 4.39% to Rs 83.25) recovered from the day's low of Rs 79.10 on renewed buying, after a recent fall. The stock was subdued in the recent past, after the company issued a cautious outlook for Q4 on account of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

MTNL bounced back from the day's low of Rs 107.70 to Rs 119.10 before settling at Rs 116.55, up 3.86% over its previous close. Over 46.91 lakh MTNL shares were traded on the BSE.

Reliance Industries (up 2.70% at Rs 275.30) firmed up, after the company announced impressive results. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, it posted a net profit of Rs 1,083 (Rs 873 crore) on total income of Rs 11,243 crore (Rs 10,450 crore).

ITC (up 1.80% to Rs 639.40) and Hindustan Lever (up 0.35% to Rs 170.85) also contributed to the gains in the Sensex.

Satyam Computer (up 2.54% to Rs 224), HCL Technologies (up 1.50% to Rs 162.30) and Infosys Technologies (up 1.17% to Rs 4,301.05) ended higher on bargain hunting, after a subdued opening.

HPCL (up 0.64% to Rs 291.25) ended with a modest gain, after the company announced impressive results on Thursday. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, it posted a net profit of Rs 330.62 crore (Rs 60.81 crore) on total income of Rs 14,299.37 crore (Rs 11,165.27 crore).

Bhel (down 2.68% to Rs 178.25) lost further ground on sustained selling pressure, after the company's results announced on Wednesday fell short of expectations. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, it posted a net profit of Rs 81.33 crore (Rs 80.15 crore) on total income of Rs 1,699.76 crore (Rs 1,490.17 crore).

ICICI Bank (down 0.07% to Rs 150.05) ended flat, coming off from the day's high of Rs 153.50 on selling pressure, despite impressive results. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, the bank posted a net profit of Rs 330.30 crore (Rs 70.02 crore) on total income of Rs 2,826.52 crore (Rs 717.47 crore).

Colgate Palmolive (down 0.11% to Rs 134.90) ended lower after the company announced its results. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, the oral care major posted a net profit of Rs 21.10 crore (Rs 15.90 crore) on total income of Rs 274.50 crore (Rs 298.50 crore).

Digital GlobalSoft (up 7.19% to Rs 578) firmed up after the company announced its results after market hours on Thursday. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, the company posted a net profit of Rs 27.01 crore (Rs 24.62 crore) on total income of Rs 113.27 crore (Rs 89.82 crore).

Aftek Infosys (up 7.36% to Rs 183.75) rose, after the company announced its results on Thursday. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, it posted a net profit of Rs 10.03 crore (Rs 8.06 crore) on total income of Rs 22.98 crore (Rs 15.37 crore).

CMC (up 3.45% to Rs 499.80) gained ground after the company posted impressive results on Thursday. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, the company posted a net profit of Rs 10.13 crore (Rs 7 crore) on total income of Rs 140.43 crore (Rs 121.88 crore).

SSI (down 4.01% to Rs 86.10) lost ground, after the company posted disappointing results. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, the company posted a net profit of Rs 0.16 crore (Rs 1.73 crore) on total income of Rs 59.39 crore (Rs 68.45 crore).

Shipping Corporation (down 3.57% to Rs 62.10) ended lower even after impressive results. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, the PSU shipping major posted a net profit of Rs 76.22 crore (Rs 37.97 crore) on total income of Rs 614.16 crore (Rs 726.82 crore).

ABB (up 5.44% to Rs 279.25) rose on renewed buying, after the company announced impressive results on Thursday. For the quarter ended 31 December 2002, it posted a net profit of Rs 41.06 crore (Rs 30.72 crore) on total income of Rs 384.65 crore (Rs 363.43 crore). For the year ended 31 December 2002, the company's net profit was Rs 97.17 crore (Rs 65.32 crore) on total income of Rs 1,200.57 crore (Rs 1,055.75 crore). The company also declared 60% dividend for FY 2002.

Source: www.capitalmarket.com