Foreign funds lift mood

Stocks Report

 The sensex surged 156.16 points, or 3.18 per cent, to settle at 5,063.03 points, its best finish since April 14, 2000.

 Meanwhile, the NSE S&P CNX rose 45.75 points, or 2.94 per cent, to end at 1,601.65.

 Foreign funds have added a net $1.43 billion of Indian shares to their portfolio in October, taking their total investment in 2003 to $4.5 billion. This is more than six times their net purchases last year.

 Gains continued almost across-the-board even after the Reserve Bank of India left the repo and bank rates unchanged in its review of the Monetary and Credit Policy.

 The Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy