The Hindu : Business : Smart rally in Sensex

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 18, 2006

Business

Business

Smart rally in Sensex

MUMBAI: A rush of buying prompted by recovery in global metal prices and Asian markets catapulted the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index to 12,217.81, up 344.08 points, the biggest single-day rise in two years.

The Sensex started strong with a wide gap of 89 points at 11,962.87 and gradually moved upwards to the intra-day high of 12,238.81 before closing at 12,217.81, up by 344.08 points or 2.9 per cent. Previously, the Sensex had zoomed by 371.86 points on May 18, 2004.

On the National Stock Exchange, the S&P CNX Nifty flared up by 111.80 points or 3.17 per cent to 3635.10. It had touched an intra-day high of 3641.85.

In Asian markets, Tokyo's Nikkei was up by 149.25 points. Despite negative FII activity, mutual funds and financial institutions continued their intervention in the market by placing fresh buy orders across-the-spectrum. Institutional purchases were so extensive that these even covered small-cap and mid-cap counters, forcing operators and retail investors to join the bandwagon.

Sentiment was boosted by the passage of Reserve Bank of India (Amendment) Bill 2005. Bank stocks hogged the limelight at the fag end of the session. Metal stocks staged a sharp recovery lifting the metal index by 494.40 points or five per cent to 10,380.26 in response to a smart rally on the London Metals Exchange (LME). — PTI

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