Bank scrip rally buoys Sensex

STOCK REPORT

Riding on the momentum in bank shares, key indices rose to new highs on Wednesday. For the first time ever, Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex topped the 12,600-mark, to finally end above this level.

The 30-share Sensex closed at a record level of 12,612.38, up 98.52 points, or 0.8 per cent, after touching a lifetime peak of 12,624.37 and a low of 12,530.98 intra-day.

National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty closed at a record level of 3,754.25, up 33.70 points, or 0.9 per cent, after touching a lifetime high of 3,758.05 and a low of 3,717.25 intra-day.

Bank shares, which were strengthening in the last few sessions, gained further momentum on Wednesday, dealers said.

Among the indices, BSE Bankex was the top gainer with a rise of 2.5 per cent to 5,809.33.

Dealers said frontline stocks continued to outshine mid-caps, as investors preferred to stay invested in liquid shares.

While Dabur India was the top Nifty gainer with a rise of nearly 5 per cent, the day belonged to bank stocks with three of them figuring among top 10 gainers in the Nifty.

Information technology shares were also firm, after being subdued in the last few sessions. CNX IT Index rose 0.5 per cent to 4,443.05 points. The overall market breadth was positive, with 1,677 shares rising on BSE against 914 that declined.

Even the 'A' group, which was the only group with more number of declining shares on Tuesday, had a majority of shares gaining. Over 60 per cent of the shares in this group rose.

Cement shares took a breather, after rising in the last few sessions. Dealers attributed Wednesday's fall in cement shares to profit-booking.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation fell 1.6 per cent. The company is likely to incur a net loss in the first quarter of the current financial year to March, if domestic fuel prices are not raised, Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Sinha had said on Tuesday.