BOMBAY, 2 September — On Monday the BSE closed at 3,318.32 and the NSE at 1,072.55. IT stocks were in the limelight.

Cement shares bounced back on reports of a price hike. Cipla saw buying because most pharma stocks have gained investor interest. Castrol was up in anticipation of SEBI’s ruling whether or not its British parent should pay interest to shareholders for delay in making a public offer.

Zee Telefilms gained on reports of presentations to some global media majors.

L & T moved up on a report that it plans to cut managerial staff by 25 percent over the next few years.

Mukta Arts was frozen at the 8 percent upper band of the circuit breaker. Balaji Telefilms was steady after BSE removed trading restrictions following a court order and allowed squaring off of transactions. The BSE announced on Saturday that trading in these stocks would be shifted to the normal five-day settlement cycle, reversing its earlier decision that all transactions would have to be settled on a trade-to-trade basis.

On Tuesday the BSE closed at 3,313.07 and the NSE at 1,070.65. IT stocks saw profit booking, and selling was also seen in consumer goods (FMCG) and select Old Economy stocks. Pharma stocks advanced on sustained buying support from foreign as well as local institutions.

On Wednesday, the BSE closed at 3,300.62 and the NSE at 1,067.45. Tisco was a major loser, reaching a 52-week low of Rs.82.15. 

On Thursday, the BSE closed at 3,286.87 and the NSE at 1,064.15. Multinational affiliates were in the limelight. Infosys Technologies declined sharply froma high of Rs.3,833 on  renewed selling pressure. NIIT and Satyam were also down. BSES slipped.  On Friday the BSE closed at 3,244.95 and the NSE at 1,053.75. 

Of the 1,508 issues traded, declines outnumbered advances with 793 losers and 524 gainers. 191 issues remained unchanged.

Gold was at Rs.4,480 per 10gms and silver was at Rs.7,150 per kg.

US dollar was at Rs.47.11, euro at Rs.43.29, pound at  Rs.68.79, Deutsche mark at Rs.22.13, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.57, UAE dirham at  Rs.12.84, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.154.01, Qatari Riyal at Rs.12.95, Bahraini Dinar at Rs.125.09 and Omani riyal at Rs.122.49.