Sensex gains 119 pts to 2-wk high - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Sensex gains 119 pts to 2-wk high

PTI | By, Mumbai
Apr 03, 2012 06:17 PM IST

The BSE Sensex extended gains for the third day in a row today to reach 2-week high of 17,597.42, up 119 points, as investors picked up stocks ahead of the fourth quarter corporate earnings, amid hopes that RBI may cut rates later this month.

The BSE Sensex extended gains for the third day in a row on Tuesday to reach 2-week high of 17,597.42, up 119 points, as investors picked up stocks ahead of the fourth quarter corporate earnings, amid hopes that RBI may cut rates later this month.

HT Image
HT Image

Consumer durables, capital goods, refinery, metals, banking and PSUs attracted good buying. Heavyweights such as RIL, ICICI Bank, L&T, SBI, HDFC, Tata Motors, ONGC and Hindalco, contributed substantially to the gains.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index opened higher and touched 17,664.10, before closing at 17,597.42, up 119.27 points or 0.68%.

Similarly, the NSE 50-issue index Nifty rose by 40.60 points or 0.76% to 5,358.50.

Brokers said interest rate-sensitive stocks, banking and realty, rose on hopes that the Reserve Bank will start cutting interest rates possibly from this month's monetary policy to push growth. RBI will announce the annual credit policy on April 17.

The long trading, four-day holiday starting on Thursday as well as corporate fourth quarter results and RBI credit policy later this month have kept markets in a narrow band, said Rikesh Parikh, VP Equities, Motilal Oswal Securities.

"Strong global cues, mainly encouraging manufacturing data from the US and strengthening rupee against the US dollar, led to continuation in the upward momentum of the Sensex," said Milan Bavishi, Head Research, Inventure Growth and Securities.

Asian markets were mixed ahead of trading holidays across the region this week. Key indices in Hong Kong and South Korea closed with gains while those in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan ended with small losses. European stocks too were trading narrowly mixed in the afternoon deals.

Meanwhile, back home, second line stocks continued to outperform the Sensex for the fourth day in a row as the Smallcap and Midcap indices gained 1.14% and 0.95% respectively.

Of the 30 Sensex scrips, 21 finished with gains. Hindalco gained 3.25%, followed by Sterlite (2.87%), SBI (1.95%), L&T (1.93%), ICICI Bank (1.87%), RIL (1.57%), BHEL (1.50%), Gail India (1.34%), Tata Motors (1.34%), Tata Power (1.30%), Tata Steel (1.29%) and ONGC (1.15%).

However, Hero MotoCorp dropped by 2.25%, Maruti Suzuki - 2.12%, Sun Pharma - 1.04%, TCS - 1.04% and Bharti Airtel - 0.96%.

Among the sectoral indices, the BSE-Consumer Durables remained the top gainer with a rise of 2.14%, followed by Capital Goods (1.65%), Oil & Gas (1.56%), Metal (1.38%), Bankex (1.22%), PSU (1.21%) and Realty (0.95%).

The total market breadth remained positive as 1,796 stocks ended in the green, while 1,023 finished in the red.

The total turnover was relatively up at Rs 2,238.97 crore from Rs 2,049.98 crore on Monday.

Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away!- Login Now!
Stay informed on Business News along with Gold Rates Today, India News and other related updates on Hindustan Times Website and APPs
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On