Stock markets rallied for the ninth successive session yesterday on sustained foreign buying in cyclical stocks, with major indices gaining another two per cent.
The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index closed the day a shade above the 3900-mark at 3900.40, an increase of 80.4 points over its previous close of 3820. The S&P CNX Nifty also gained 21.80 points to end the day at 1116.
Volumes on both the bourses were moderately heavy, with stocks worth Rs 2,434.58 crore being traded on the National Stock Exchange and Rs 2,055.77 crore on the BSE.
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The emphasis on cyclical stocks in sectors like cement, petrochemicals and paper continued as the scrips of Bajaj Auto touched Rs 621, Reliance Rs 166, Tata Chemical Rs 68 and ICICI Rs 68.85, a rise of 8 per cent for all. All of them touched the circuit filter on both the exchanges. Gujarat Ambuja touched a new 52-week high of Rs 334.70 on the NSE before closing at Rs 328.
The scrips that touched the upper circuit filter on the BSE included Satyam Computers at Rs 1,475.25, pharmaceutical major Smithkline Beecham Rs 383.15, BPL Rs 413.05, Sesa Goa Rs106.80 and Lakme Rs 189.80. On the NSE, the biggest gainers were Indian Rayon, which closed at Rs 103.85 and Reliance Capital at Rs 35.70. However, the buying was not restricted to cyclicals alone. Four pharmaceutical scrips in the specified group touched new 52-week highs including Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy and Dabur. Besides this, Punjab Tractors, Hero Honda, Lakme, Gujarat Ambuja Cement and HDFC Bank also touched a 52-week high.
Index heavyweight Hindustan Lever made a comeback with the scrip rising by almost Rs 100 to end the day at Rs 2,170. The banking and financial institution sector continued to shine in the rally. ICICI was up 8 per cent, IDBI gained Rs 2.45 to close at Rs 37, while SBI increased by Rs 4.55 to end at Rs 210. According to the sectoral calculations made by the Business Standard Research Bureau, the top five performing sectors were cement, paper, petrochemicals, aluminium and two-wheelers. TITLE>