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Tech stocks lead rally, Sensex spurts 3%, Nifty 2 %

Software and telecom stocks staged a handsome rally at the Bombay Stock Exchange, pushing the 30-share Sensex up by 160 points or 3.02 per cent following heavy buying spree by market players today.

According to marketmen, besides software, select stocks from the media, finance, banking, auto, auto ancillary and pharma sectors also shot up considerably on heavy buying support from foreign and domestic institutional investors.

Reflecting the bullish phase, the Sensex opened at 5431.55 points, up by 161 points from the previous close. Surpassing the 5,500 mark, it touched the day's high of 5518.29 points, before closing at 5474.00 points, showing a net gain of 160.41 points from last Friday's close of 5313.59 points.

The broad-based BSE-100 index also advanced smartly by 59.75 points at 3181.05 points as against the previous close of 3121.30 points.

The National Stock Exchange also witnessed a bull run.

Acccording to analysts, Infosys Technologies, ITC, ICICI, MTNL hit the upward circuit filters by registering 8 per cent gains while others like NIIT, Gujarat Ambuja, Reliance, BSES, Glaxo, L&T and Ranbaxy followed them by registering over 5 per cent gains.

According to senior brokers at the BSE, the bullish trend in the domestic market is on the line of overseas markets as the Asian markets witnessed a firm trend today, following Nasdaq's record upswing. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 33.16 points to 4244.14 points last Friday, surpassing its January 21 record of 4235.

Reacting to the Nasdaq rally, the Nikkei Index at the Tokyo market too shot up 66.67 points at 19829.80 points today.

The losers at the BSE were Novartis, Hindalco, HPCL, Colgate, SBI and HLL. The FMCG stocks like Cadbury's, Colgate, Britannia, HLL, P&G and Henkel Spic lost considerably due to speculative selling pressure, dealers said.

Among other indices at the BSE, the BSE-200 and Dollex advanced by 11.72 and 4.48 points at 701.17 and 267.69 points as against the previous close of 689.45 and 263.21 points respectively.

The BSE-500 index also rose by 34.23 points at 2105.79 points as against the previous close of 2071.56 points.

Total turnover on the BOLT system, reported during the day, surpassed Rs 50 billion mark and stood at Rs 52.932 billion.

Satyam Computers topped the list of turnover by registering highest turnover of Rs 6.95 billion, Pentafour Software Rs 5.61 billion, Himachal Futuristic Communications Rs 4.52 billion, Zee Telefilms Rs 3.43 billion, Reliance Rs 2.96 billion.

Other actively traded counters were Silverline, Digital Equipment, Infosys, NIIT, Global Telesystems, HCL Infosys, Sterlite, SSI Limited, Ranbaxy and Reliance Petroleum.

At the NSE, technology stocks staged a smart rally on heavy buying spree from foreign and domestic institutional investors today.

According to marketmen, software, telecom and media stocks were at the forefront and they were followed by pivotals like Gujarat Ambuja, Reliance, BSES, Glaxo, L&T and Ranbaxy.

Mirroring the trend, the S&P CNX Nifty Index opened at 1599.80 points which happens to be the day's low, touched the day's high of 1645.90 points, before closing at 1636.60 points, showing a net gain of 36.85 points or 2.30 per cent from the previous close of 1599.75 points.

The S&P CNX -500 Index also advanced by 10.03 points at 1438.39 points from the previous close of 1428.36 points. The S&P CNX Defty ended higher by 29.00 points at 1300.00 points as against the previous close of 1271.35 points.

Leading NSE brokers attributed the considerable surge in share prices to the bullish trend in the international stock market. According to them, surpassing of the 4,200 mark by the Nasdaq Composite Index last Friday followed by hefty increase in the Nikkei Index at Tokyo today brightened market sentiments on the local bourses.

UNI

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