Sensex vaults 342 pts; Nifty ends 96 pts up

Sensex vaults 342 pts; Nifty ends 96 pts up
Reliance pulls Sensex to record close

Sensex ends up over 340pts, L&T gains 4%

NSE 6274.30 95.75
BSE 20686.89 341.69

Shrugging off weak US and Japanese markets, the bulls entered the ring this morning, got equities off to a firm start and then, stepped up momentum in style as the session progressed. Though a bit selective with regard to the broad market, they proved relentless in their pursuit for key stocks from oil, banking, capital goods, FMCG and metal sectors. Gains posted by key stocks from these sectors were so strong that the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty went on to scale new peaks this afternoon.

Information technology stocks had another disappointing outing with the rupee's surge forcing the investors out of the counters. Auto stocks, barring a select few, found the going tough. Pharma and consumer durables stocks turned subdued after a fairly positive start. Buying remained stock specific in power, PSU and realty sectors.

The Sensex, which opened marginally higher at 20,367.94, crossed new milestones in a hurry and hit a lifetime high of 20,762.80 in late afternoon trade before finally settling down at 20,686.89 with a massive gain of 341.69 points or 1.68%. The Nifty posted a new high at 6300.05 and ended at 6274.30, around 1.55% or 95.75 points higher than its previous closing mark.

Profit-taking saw several smallcap stocks losing sheen. Midcaps fared relatively better. The market breadth, which remained strong till a little past mid-afternoon, turned almost neutral as the session drew to a close. Out of 2922 stocks traded on BSE today, 1479 stocks closed with gains. 1422 stocks ended on a losing note and 21 stocks finished at their previous closing levels.
ICICI Bank, which emerged as the biggest gainer from the Sensex pack, ended stronger by 4.7% at Rs 1285.35. Larsen & Toubro surged 4.5% to Rs 4244.40. Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Communications and Hindalco gained 3.8%, 3.65% and 3.45% respectivley. ONGC notched up a gain of 2.9%.

Reliance Industries, which played a significant role in lifting the market to new highs today, ended with a handsome gain of 2.9% at Rs 2985.85. ITC and DLF moved up by around 2.35% to Rs 219.55 and Rs 1112.50 respectively. HDFC advanced by 2.2% to Rs 3111.50 and BHEL gained 1.35%.

Ranbaxy Laboratories, Tata Steel, Wipro and Bajaj Auto finished with marginal gains. HDFC Bank opened well but failed to retain gains and settled just above its previous closing price.
Among the losers from the Sensex, NTPC eased by 1.75% to Rs 271.75. Mahindra & Mahindra, Cipla, Ambuja Cements, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Infosys Technologies lost 1% - 1.5%. Satyam Computer Services ended nearly a per cent down. ACC eased by 0.45%. Reliance Energy, Grasim Industries and State Bank of India finished with small losses while Bharti Airtel settled lower by less than a rupee.

Reliance Petroleum, Sterlite Industries, Siemens, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Idea Cellular, Tata Power, HCL Technologies, GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, SAIL and Suzlon Energy ended with strong gains. Sun Pharmaceuticals, Nalco, Hero Honda, BPCL and Zee Entertainment closed with sharp losses.

Punjab Tractors zoomed 29.5% to Rs 351.50. Hinduja Ventures closed with a big gain of 13.55%. Parsvnath Developers, EIH Limited, Bombay Dyeing, Orchid Chemicals and Aditya Birla Nuvo moved up by 6% - 10%. IPCA Laboratories, Engineers India, HMT, National Fertilizers, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers, Sun TV Network, SKF India and Colgate Palmolive also ended on a high note.

Adlabs Films, Bajaj Auto Finance, Torrent Power, Panacea Biotech, Monsanto, Himatsingka Seide, Shopper's Stop, Bajaj Hindustan, NDTV, Praj Industries, Gujarat Petronet, Advanta, Jyoti Structures and Essar Shipping were among the other major gainers from the midcap index.
Hindustan Motors gained over 20% on strong volumes. With a turnover of around Rs 346.72 crore on a volume of nearly 43 million on the National Stock Exchange, it was among the most actively traded stocks today. RNRL (3.95%) and Jaiprakash Associates (3.35%) also moved up on hefty volumes.

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