Bank stocks take off

STOCKS REPORT

Sustained buying interest in banking and select old economy stocks on expectations of strong quarterly earnings pushed up key indices on Wednesday. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex rose 61.14 points to 6,194.11, a new closing high.

During intra-day trades, the Sensex hit a low of 6,162.18 and a high of 6,215.02.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty surged 18.55 points to settle at 1,982.15, off the day's high of 1,995.20.

Vipul Sanghvi, senior manager, institutional sales, Fortis Securities, said, "The demand was strong for banks and shipping companies. Traders are generally expecting strong results across the board."

Gainers outpaced losers in brisk trades. Of the 1,928 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1,049 gainers and 817 losers.

Turnover on the BSE rose to Rs 2,989.55 crore from Rs 2,825.14 crore on Tuesday, even as 22.17 crore (20.54 crore) shares changed hands on Wednesday.

On the NSE, 36.72 crore (34.27 crore) shares worth Rs 6,135.13 crore (Rs 5,896.29 crore) were traded on Wednesday.

State Bank of India, the biggest commercial bank in the country, jumped 4.44 per cent to Rs 674.50, off a new life-time high of Rs 678.80 in intra-day trades, on hopes that a booming economy will help credit offtake and reduce the non-performing assets of the banks.

But Corporation Bank fell 5.17 per cent to Rs 259.50, off the day's high of Rs 289.50, after the bank posted disappointing quarterly earnings early afternoon.

Tata Motors edged up 2.65 per cent to close at Rs 507.85, off a new 52-week high of Rs 512.40 in intraday trades.

ITC added 3.36 per cent to Rs 1,135.15. Reliance Industries vaulted 1.68 per cent to Rs 597.40 on institutional buying interest.

Tata Power added 3.10 per cent to Rs 422.80. Bharti Tele-Ventures rallied 2.39 per cent to Rs 121.90, but off its day's high of Rs 125.75.