Sensex rides IT counters to 120 point gain

Infosys leads; Sensex jumps 2.09% to 5,904.52.

Infosys led the markets by example, spreading the cheer to all infotech stocks and, of course, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex.

The Sensex galloped to an intra-day high of 5,920.18, 2.37 per cent higher than Monday's close, before profit taking at higher levels deflated some gains. The index finally closed 2.09 per cent (120.73 points) higher at 5,904.52, its highest close in more than a month.

The BSE IT sector index surged 6.98 per cent to 1919.99. In fact, IT stocks Wipro, Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer captured the top three positions in the Sensex gainers' list, even as 23 of the 30 scrips in the Sensex basket closed with gains over Monday's close. The breadth of the market was positive with gainers outpacing losers 1050:715.

Hanu Bhatia, vice-president, Parag Parikh Securities, said: "Infosys Technologies surprised the market with a generous bonus issue and an encouraging guidance, leading the market to react positively across the board."

The Wipro scrip's price jumped 10.54 per cent to Rs 1,605.10 and Satyam Computer's price rallied 5.9 per cent to Rs 334.15. More importantly, the Infosys results sparked a broad-based rally on hopes that companies across sectors would report strong quarterly earnings growth.

The BSE Bankex was up 2.22 per cent, the PSU index moved up 1.61 per cent and the FMCG index gained 1.40 per cent. Economy bellwether stock State Bank of India gained 2.83 per cent to Rs 636.80, Reliance Industries was up 2.02 per cent to Rs 572.75, Hindustan Lever was 1.57 per cent higher at Rs 152.25 and ITC was up 0.93 per cent to Rs 1,085.10. But Hero Honda Motor was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 0.66 per cent to Rs 501.50.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements was up 3.57 per cent to Rs 317.25, Grasim was up 3.24 per cent to Rs 1,158.70, L&T was up 2.82 per cent to Rs 613.05 and ACC was up 1.27 per cent to Rs 267.25.

In other stocks, the price of Biocon, a recent debutant on the bourses, fell 10.41 per cent to Rs 622.40, Bank of Maharashtra ended 0.13 per cent lower at Rs 38.90, and Power Trading Corporation fell 1.89 per cent to Rs 44.20, which market sources said was due to investors cashing out on recent gains.