After several days of listless trading, the stock markets firmed up with bulls taking fresh positions. While the Sensex rose by 54.81 points over the previous close of 3438.80, the NSE-50 index actually shed one point.
Brokers said Wednesday's price movements on the NSE had a spill-over effect on BSE's indices. It may be recalled that BSE was closed on Wednesday on account of Raksha Bandhan.
Brokers said the upward movement of pivotals were mainly due to reports that the finance ministry is reviewing the minimum alternate tax (Mat) burden for certain industries, including steel and concessions in the form of lower excise and custom duties could also be introduced for the steel and cement sectors. The reports of sops for the small investors to boost the sagging capital markets also improved sentiments.
During intra-day trade, the Sensex had opened at 3443.10, which was the intra-day low and later touched the day's high of 3528.19. According to broking circles, the markets opened strong and most stocks recorded sharp gains during the early trading sessions.