Renewed buying interest in automobile, metal and bank stocks lifted the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex on Thursday. The Sensex ended 65.17 points higher at 3,806.83, off the intra-day low of 3,733.63.
Buying interest followed positive statements from the government. Finance minister Jaswant Singh said macro-economic developments in the first quarter were encouraging and good monsoon rainfall would lead to robust growth.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty index added 25.90 points to settle at 1,196.95.
Also Read
Gainers outnumbered losers by about two to one in brisk trades.
Tata Motors surged 4.49 per cent to Rs 243 on fund-based buying interest following reports that it had sold 24,995 vehicles in July 2003, a 38 per cent rise over the year-ago period. Bajaj Auto edged up 2.76 per cent to Rs 660.10.
FMCG behemoth Hindustan Lever added 3.02 per cent to Rs 165.20.
State Bank of India gained 2.70 per cent to Rs 418.35, Corporation Bank added 4.82 per cent to Rs 186, Punjab National Bank gained 4.22 per cent to Rs 159.20, Oriental Bank of Commerce vaulted 3.79 per cent to Rs 160.25, while Bank of Baroda climbed 3.63 per cent to Rs 125.45.
Reliance Industries added 1.35 per cent to Rs 355.70, and cigarette major ITC surged by 1.22 per cent to Rs 738.65. Tata Steel vaulted 3.57 per cent to Rs 224.75, off from a new 52-week high of Rs 225.70 during intra-day trades.
State-run oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum added 5.41 per cent to Rs 347.05 on hopes that the process of disinvestment of will progress soon. Bhel rose 3.15 per cent to Rs 274.85.
Elsewhere, Grasim gained 3.10 per cent to Rs 571.05, Larsen & Toubro rose 2.31 per cent to Rs 279.10, BSES surged 2.14 per cent to Rs 289.40, and MTNL gained 2.03 per cent to Rs 122.95.
However, Nestle India shed 2.59 per cent to Rs 575.20, off the intra-day high of Rs 584 after Wednesday