IT, bank stocks lead market rally

The day after...protest and relief

Buoyed by a smart recovery by the information technology and bank stocks, domestic bourses overcame the influence of falling Asian markets on a day of big swings.

The Sensex swung wildly before coming out of the Budget jitters to close higher by 221.46 points or 1.71 per cent at 13,159.55. The broader Nifty-50 Index gained 65.9 points or 1.76 per cent to reach 3,811.20.

Three out of the top five gainers among the Sensex scrips were tech stocks "" TCS (up 5.65 per cent to Rs 1,255), followed by Satyam Computer (up 5.47 per cent to Rs 435.05) and Infosys (up 3.61 per cent to Rs 2,153.45) "" on realisation that the impact of the Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT), as proposed in the Union Budget, would be marginal.

The other top gainers were HDFC Bank (up 5.20 per cent to Rs 981.10 and Reliance Communications (up 5.09 per cent to Rs 428.20).

The BSE IT Index was the biggest gainer among the sectoral indices with a rise of 4.13 per cent. The BSE Bankex rose by 2.75 per cent.

The see-saw trade saw the Sensex swing by 331.78 points. "I don't think the markets are out of the woods. I think today's rise is a relief rally," said Rahul Rege, business head (non-institutional) at BRICS Securities.

Foreign funds continued to be net sellers in the cash market. The provisional figures from the NSE today show they were net sellers to the tune of Rs 483 crore.

Construction stocks IVRCL (up 5.45 to Rs 306.50), Hindustan Construction (up 5.51 per cent to Rs 108.15), L&T (up 3.57 per cent to Rs 1,540.55) and Nagarjuna Construction (up 0.67 per cent to Rs 156.95) rebounded from yesterday's fall.