| However, Thursday's rise is seen as a temporary bounceback by market watchers who insist that investors continue to be uneasy, and the next two-three sessions will decide the market direction. |
| On Thursday, firmness in the Asian and European markets lifted investor sentiment. "Our market took cues from Asian markets early on and then short covering provided good support," a dealer said. |
| The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex ended at 13487.16, up 305.82 points or 2.3 per cent, after moving between 13239.79 and 13524.77. |
| The National Stock Exchange Nifty settled at 3843.05, up 77.85 points or 2.1 per cent. Intraday, it touched a low of 3763.50 and a high of 3855.05. |
| The combined turnover on both exchanges was Rs 12,300 crore, down 12 per cent from Wednesday. On BSE, advances outnumbered declines 4:1. |
| All BSE sector indices ended 1-4 per cent up. The biggest gainer was BSE Consumer Durables Index, up 3.8 per cent, followed by BSE Bankex, up 3.2 per cent. Biggest Nifty gainers were HCL Technologies, up 6.6 per cent at Rs 624.75, Zee Telefilms, up 5.3 per cent at Rs 353.00, and ICICI Bank, up 4.7 per cent at Rs 870.35. |
| HCL Technologies shot up over 8 per cent intraday after the company board recommended 1:1 bonus share issue. The record date for the issue is likely to be around January-end. |
| ICICI Bank was among the lead gainers all session after the bank on late Wednesday announced a hike in lending rates by 50 bps and deposit rates by 25-75 bps. |
| Analysts expect such hikes from other banks as well, as Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced 50 bps hike in bank cash reserve ratio. |
| Investors continued buying bank shares, as valuations now look attractive following the steep market correction on Monday-Tuesday. |
| Apart from ICICI Bank, the other big index gainer was Oriental Bank of Commerce, up 3 per cent at Rs 227.85. |
| SBI, down 0.1 per cent at Rs 1,223.70, was the only frontline loser among banks. |
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