Heavyweights step up tempo

STOCK REPORT

Indices ended at highest-ever close and were up nearly 1 per cent amid buying in heavyweights Reliance Industries and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

Higher-than-expected earnings from Nifty majors National Aluminium and Reliance Communications also boosted sentiment.

Weak Asian markets, and below-expected earnings from Tata Motors and Steel Authority of India, failed to play spoilsport as the mood was upbeat ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's mid-term monetary policy review Tuesday.

"The markets have rallied on the back of some good results. Also, investors are cheered from reports that 70 per cent of bankers do not expect RBI to hike rates on Tuesday," Prakash Rajdev, chief dealer at Khandwala Securities, said.

Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex ended at 13024.26, up 117.45 points or 0.9 per cent from Friday, after moving between 12844.85 and 13039.30 intra-day.

National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty ended at 3769.10, up 29.75 points or 0.8 per cent, after moving between 3719.45 and 3776.05 intra-day.

Combined turnover on the exchanges was roughly Rs 120 billion, against Rs 126 billion Friday.

CNX Midcap closed up 0.1 per cent and S&P CNX 500 Index ended up 0.6 per cent.

On the BSE, however, declines led advances marginally, 1.2:1.

Bank and oil and gas shares were the biggest gainers on domestic bourses, while metal and consumer durable shares were laggards.

The BSE Bank Index, up 2 per cent, was the top gainer among BSE indices, while BSE Oil and Gas Index was up 1.2 per cent.