After a full 90-point gain on Thursday, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex gained another 58.39 points today to close at a new 26-month high of 3,726.46 points.
The gains of the last two days powered the Sensex to close the week 79 points higher than last Friday.
Among the stocks leading the bull charge, the State Bank of India scrip gained 4.8 per cent to close at Rs 425.80 and ICICI Bank gained 2.25 per cent to close at Rs 159.20.
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Tata Engineering gained 4.21 per cent at Rs 222.55, ACC 3.99 per cent at Rs 178.55, and the Reliance Industries scrip gained 1.1 per cent to end the day at Rs 348.85.
However, the Colgate Palmolive scrip lost 1.75 per cent to end at Rs 145.70 and ITC shed 1.55 per cent to close at Rs 734.70.
The Zee Telefilms scrip lost ground for the second consecutive day, shedding 1.24 per cent today to close at Rs 115.55.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), other bank stocks posted handsome gains. The Oriental Bank of Commerce scrip gained 5.62 per cent to close at Rs 178.60 and HDFC Bank rose 2.46 per cent to close at Rs 264.85.
Dealers said bank stocks were in particular demand on expectations that the investment limit on foreign institutional investors might be separated from that on foreign direct investment.
Trading was brisk on the two major exchanges, with the BSE reporting volumes worth Rs 1,424.47 crore and the NSE Rs 3,586.38 crore. Advances outnumbered declines 1,199:691, with 77 stocks closing unchanged from Thursday