However, positive announcements - RBI leaving repo rates unchanged and FM extending tax holidays on STPI - triggered aggressive buying in financial and technology stocks. The Sensex rallied to a high of 17,425, and finally ended with a gain of 362 points at 17,378.
The market breadth was positive - out of 2,770 stocks traded, 1,585 advanced, 1,123 declined and 62 are unchanged today.
The NSE Nifty surged 105 points to end at 5,195.
INDEX MOVERS...
Financial stocks ended with smart gains after the RBI left repo and reverse repo rates unchanged. The central bank, however, hiked CRR by 25 bps.
HDFC soared 6% to Rs 2,881. SBI rallied 3.3% to Rs 1,794, and HDFC Bank added 2% to Rs 1,548.
Technology stocks, too, rallied smartly after the Finance minister extended tax holiday for STPI by a year to March 2010.
Satyam zoomed over 8% to Rs 479. Infosys surged over 5% to Rs 1,751. Wipro gained 4.7% at Rs 479, and TCS advanced over 3% to Rs 911.
DLF surged 8.5% to Rs 726. Hindalco gained 6.5% at Rs 198, and Jaiprakash Associates added 6% to Rs 266.
Tata Steel rallied 4% to Rs 809. Reliance moved up 2.3% to Rs 2,653, and Larsen & Toubro advanced 2% to Rs 3,007.
Hindustan Unilever gained 1.5% at Rs 251. Ambuja Cements, BHEL and Ranbaxy were up 1.3% each at Rs 115, Rs 1,892 and Rs 485, respectively.
...AND THE SHAKERS
Grasim plunged over 6% to Rs 2,472.
Bharti Airtel shed 2.8% at Rs 902, and Reliance Communications slipped 1.7% to Rs 575.
MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS
Reliance Capital topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 317 crore followed by Sesa Goa (Rs 309.50 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs 295.20 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 270 crore) and Reliance (Rs 231.65 crore).
Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 2.15 crore shares followed by Ispat Industries (1.71 crore), IFCI (1.55 crore), Indiabulls Securities (1.51 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (1.48 crore).
