Bank scrips lead bull charge

STOCK REPORT

Pursuing strong global markets, the benchmark indices made a further headway and on Wednesday ended 91.94 points up at a fresh closing peak of 12,310.72 amid signs of a momentum in upbeat mood.

The bull run was mainly led by bank shares following an increase in their prime lending rates (PLR), which is expected to help strengthen the banks bottom lines.

Extending the rally to fourth straight day, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark 30-share index (Sensex) bounced back from the day's low of 12,134.19 and scaled an all-time trading peak of 12,337.01 before ending the day at 12,310.72 against yesterday's close of 12,218.78, up by 0.75 per cent.

The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty added 28.80 points to end at new closing peak of 3,634.25 from previous close of 3,605.45.

The Sensex has gained by 475.70 points or 4.02 per cent in the last four sessions.

The market generally followed a strong trend in overseas markets, overcoming occasional pressure as investors made aggressive purchases at the day's lower levels.

Operators as also institutional investors were believed to be continuously building up long positions for the futures May contract, indicating the market's bullish fervour.

The market seemed to have discounted negative factors such as skyrocketing global crude oil prices and a likely hike of Rs 2-3 per litre in petrol and diesel prices at home.

As per the NSE investment data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have built up long positions amounting to Rs 621 crore in index futures and options on May 2.

Reflecting sharp upsurge in bank stocks, the Bankex rose by another 167.72 points or 3.07 per cent to 5,627.51 from previous close of 5,459.79.