Equities settled higher for the third straight session as investors shrugged off war fears. While the BSE's Sensex settled rose 63.92 points to 3,255.52, off from its intraday low of 3,200.71, the S&P CNX Nifty Index rose by 18.80 points and closed close at 1,064.20.
Brokers said investors snapped bargains in a market ravaged by war fears, that had pulled down the key index more than 9 per cent in two weeks. Gainers outpaced losers by nearly three to one in heavy trade.
FMCG giant Hindustan Lever Ltd continued to rally for third day on institutional buying. The stock rose 1.19 per cent before settling at Rs 200.30. Other heavyweight counters such as ITC (up 3.89 per cent to Rs 643.70), Reliance Industries (up 0.40 per cent to Rs 274.05) and Reliance Petroleum (up 1.24 per cent to Rs 24.50) also settled higher.
PSU stocks gained on bargain hunting. Key stocks such as MTNL (up 5.06 per cent to Rs 133.85) and BHEL (up 5.12 per cent to Rs 165.20) gained further ground.
Several second-rung PSU stocks also ruled firm. SAIL (up 7.66 per cent to Rs 11.95) slipped after touching its 52-week high of Rs 13.30. But Shipping Corporation of India (down 7.97 per cent to Rs 101.10) lost ground on the reports that the rising share price of the shipping major may hit its divestment plans.
Banking sector sector also witnessed renewed buying interest. State Bank of India (up 2.76 per cent to Rs 227.15) rose on sustained buying. Second-line PSU banking stocks such as Dena Bank (up 9.22 per cent to Rs 11.85) and Bank of Baroda (up 3.83 per cent to Rs 52.85) gained on hopes of revival in the sector and divestment of government stake in the near future.
In the technology segment, stocks rose on renewed buying interest. Satyam Computer (up 4.92 per cent to Rs 234.55), Infosys Technologies (up 2.90 per cent to Rs 3,432.05) and HCL Technologies (up 0.93 per cent to Rs 227.80) remained firm on fund-based buying. Other frontline stocks in this segment such as NIIT (up 3.09 per cent to Rs 265.20), Hughes Software (up 2.98 per cent to Rs 233.50), SSI (up 2.72 per cent to Rs 147.30), Digital GlobalSoft (up 2.59 per cent to Rs 652.05), Polaris Software (up 2.51 per cent to Rs 269.60) and Wipro (up 0.89 per cent to Rs 1,532.45) ended with gains.
