Sensex posts small gain

Brokers said pivotals like Reliance, Glaxo and IPCL staged further gains on good buying support from foreign and domestic institutions while software companies like Satyam Computer and NIIT declined on profit-taking. FIIs have picked up select scrips like Reliance and IPCL while domestic institutions led by UTI-supported pharmaceuticals like Glaxo etc.

The session started on a cheerful noteand continued to move up till mid-session, but profit-taking at higher levels and squaring up on the last day of the current settlement at the fag end lost the initial gains. Reliance and IPCL were on the upbeat and hit the circuit-breaker during intra-day trading on expectations that the government would impose anti-dumping duty on petrochemicals in the ensuing budget.

Total volume of business was lower at Rs 1457.92 crore compared with Thursday’s turnover of Rs 1546.41 crore. Pentafour Software led with a turnover of Rs 184.13 crore. However, the Pentafour Software dropped by Rs 20.50 to Rs 895.75 on selling pressure. ITC lost by Rs 2 to Rs 818.50, Tata Tea by Rs 17.25 to Rs 434.75, Hindustan Lever by Rs 3.50 to Rs 1926, Novartis by Rs 22.25 to Rs 888 and TELCO by Rs 2.30 to Rs 201.40.