Festival of lights delight

STOCKS REPORT

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex ended 44 points up at 5,973.75 on Wednesday owing to a reduction in oil prices coupled with expectations of more spending during Diwali.

It was also just short of 26 points from the psychological 6,000-mark.

The index opened at 5,918.95 points and went to a high of 5,979.78 during intra-day trades. Wednesday's closing is also a nine-month high.

Dealers said they expect the index to touch the 6,000-mark in the next couple of trading sessions. The broader Nifty index also rose 17.35 points to close at 1,876.10.

Gainers outnumbered losers 2:1 in active trades of 15.1 crore shares compared with 15.6 crore shares on Tuesday.

While the market fundamentals are sound, some part of the ramp up in stock prices can be attributed to the festive season euphoria and the fact this season also marks the beginning of a new year for the trading community.

Strong foreign fund inflows have also contributed to the positive sentiment.

Foreign funds have bought $311 million worth of Indian shares so far in November compared with about $876 million in October.

Global crude oil prices fell to a seven-week low of around $47 a barrel which eased fears of domestic inflation and boosted refiners.

Reliance Industries rose 0.8 per cent to Rs 544.15 at the end of the day, while Indian Oil Corporation rose 3.2 per cent to close at Rs 484.80. Bharat Petroleum looked up 3.8 per cent to close at Rs 408.95.

Expectations of higher consumer spending during the festive season drove up automobile makers, with Maruti Udyog rising 1.2 per cent to Rs 378.05 and Hero Honda Motors rising two per cent to R 442.40.

An expected rise in lending rates boosted bank shares, with HDFC Bank up 3.6 per cent to Rs 474.20 and Bank of India rising 1.3 per cent to Rs 60.90.

The share price of State Bank of India, which said it would review its rates, rose 0.6 per cent to Rs 493.15.

Software services firms continued to add gains in the wake of the reelection of the US President George W. Bush seen encouraging outsourcing of jobs to India.

Wipro rose 1.4 per cent to Rs 699.40 and Satyam Computer Services gained 1.8 per cent to Rs 407 at the end of the day.