Tech stocks proved a major focus of the market on Monday after HCL Tech announced the bagging of a major overseas BPO order. Heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ITC and State Bank of India also contributed to the gains of the market. Banking stocks were trading off highs though.

While war developments continued to influence trading sentiment, there was slight cautiousness ahead of the beginning of the earnings-reporting season.

On the war front, US forces encircled Baghdad on Sunday and began flying into the capital's airport.

At 14:20 IST, the BSE Sensex was trading 51.92 points at 3,219.13. The NSE S & P CNX Nifty Index was up 16.05 points at 1,033.

Tech leader HCL Tech (up 5.33% to Rs 172.80) leaped up after the company announced that it has secured a framework contract worth up to $ 160 million for its BPO service operations from the telecom major BT. This is the largest ever engagement in the BPO space awarded to an Indian company. Over 7 lakh HCL Tech shares were traded on BSE so far.

The HCL Tech rise proved infectious for other tech pivotals Satyam Computer (up 3.26% to Rs 193) and Infosys Tech (up 1.73% to Rs 4,374.05) .

Largest media listing Zee Telefilms (up 4.01% to Rs 75.15) emerged firm on sustained buying interest. Over 7.41 lakh Zee Telefilms shares were traded thus far. ZTL announced that it will levy a subscription fee of Rs 55 per month per subscriber for its bouquet of 14 channels when the conditional access regime becomes operational on 14 July.

Reliance Industries (up 2.20% to Rs 299.75), ITC (up 3.99% to Rs 663.60), State Bank of India (up 1.48% to Rs 287.65) and Hindustan Lever (up 1.06% to Rs 152.35) also contributed significantly to the gains of Sensex.

Bajaj Auto (up 2.24% to Rs 517) and Hero Honda (up 0.78% to Rs 195) were trading off highs.

Cement pivotals L & T (up 1.31% to Rs 189), ACC (up 1.23% to Rs 142.90), Gujarat Ambuja Cements (up 1% to Rs 166.60) and Grasim (up 0.63% to Rs 341.80) held gains on reports that cement prices had risen sharply in the Western region.

Other pivotals HPCL (up 1.79% to Rs 306.70), GlaxoSmithKline (up 1.82% to Rs 311), Telco (up 1.48% to Rs 168), ICICI Bank (up 1.35% to Rs 139), Tata Steel (up 1.32% to Rs 142.35), Colgate Palmolive (up 1.07% to Rs 122.45), Cipla (up 0.93% to Rs 732.50), Castrol India (up 0.61% to Rs 190.80) and Hindalco (up 0.55% to Rs 558) also held ground.

State-run telco MTNL (down 2.45% to Rs 99.40) slipped deeper into the red as selling pressure continued after recent gains. Over 1.57 lakh MTNL shares were traded on BSE so far.

Other pivotals stocks Nestle India (down 0.60% to Rs 525.20) and HDFC (down 0.29% to Rs 339.55) were in the red as well.

Hughes Software (up 4.04% to Rs 212.55) jumped up to its 3-month high of Rs 213.50 . Over 13.65 lakh HSS shares were traded on BSE so far.

Other non-Sensex frontline tech stocks NIIT (up 6.73% to Rs 115.75), SSI (up 4.82% to Rs 69.55), Polaris Software (up 4.17% to Rs 137.50), Mascot Systems (up 4.02% to Rs 111.50), Digital GlobalSoft (up 3.20% to Rs 621.50), I-flex solutions (up 1.77% to Rs 935.75) and Wipro (up 0.64% to Rs 1,301) moved higher on all-round buying interest.

State-run financial institution IFCI (up 7.23% to Rs 4.45) sprang forth on reports that the government is moving towards reviving an old proposal involving a merger between the leading financial institutions IFCI and IDBI. According to a report, the minister of state for finance, Anandrao Adsul, has hinted that the finance ministry is considering the particular proposal.

PSU banks Indian Overseas Bank (up 6.69% to Rs 19.15), Syndicate Bank (up 5.45% to Rs 20.30), Dena Bank (up 3.16% to Rs 16.10), Corporation Bank (up 2.83% to Rs 147), Vijaya Bank (up 2.69% to Rs 17.20), Bank of India (up 0.48% to Rs 42.30), Punjab National Bank (up 0.69% to Rs 109.05) and Oriental Bank of Commerce (up 0.38% to Rs 80) eased from their highs .

Private sector banking stocks Centurion Bank (up 4.21% to Rs 9.90), IDBI Bank (up 3.34% to Rs 23.20), HDFC Bank (up 3.23% to Rs 248), City Union Bank (up 3.18% to Rs 40.50), Karur Vysya Bank (up 2.67% to Rs 182.50), IndusInd Bank (up 2.62% to Rs 17.60), Federal Bank (up 2.57% to Rs 105.95), UTI Bank (up 2.22% to Rs 41.50), Karnataka Bank (up 2.07% to Rs 61.50), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.03% to Rs 162.10) and Vysya Bank (up 0.60% to Rs 251) proved steady .

Banking sector stocks have been rising in recent sessions due to a combination of factors. While the enactment of the Securitisation Act has helped banks to recover debts easily, huge bond trading profits are expected after a steep fall in yields. Also, a proposal from the government is expected to help banks write off more bad loans.

The Securitisation Act paves the way for recovery of sticky assets of banks without additional court procedures. More importantly, it has created the right environment for the lending business as a whole. With the new law, banks have been empowered to attach assets of defaulters without having to seek access to law. Hitherto weak laws ensured that borrowers obtained funds easily but were not pressurised to repay dues, resulting in huge NPAs - currently estimated at over Rs 1,00,000 crore in the banking system.

United Western Bank (down 2.27% to Rs 21.50), J & K Bank (down 1.59% to Rs 126.50), Global Trust Bank (down 1.59% to Rs 15.50), Bank of Baroda (down 1.52% to Rs 93.70), Canara Bank (down 0.06% to Rs 79.40) and Andhra Bank (down 0.16% to Rs 30.40) were trading in the red on selling pressure after recent gains.

Source: capitalmarket.com