Sensex up by another 62 points in bumpy trade

The benchmark Sensex today gained for the sixth successive session in bumpy trade and ended higher by another 62 points following firm global cues and continued buying by foreign funds.

Realty, metal, and banking counters attracted heavy buying from foreign funds and helped the Sensex to gain.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed up and continued to be in and out of positive terrain between 10,932.12 and 10,655.96 before ending at 10,803.86, a net rise of 61.52 points or 0.57% over its previous close.

But the broader 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange ended flat at 3,342.05 from the last close of 3,342.95.

Small- and mid-cap shares continued to attract retail investor attention.

Asian markets ended higher today due to firm trends on Wall Street. The Kospi shot up by 4.30%, the Taiwan Weighted Index by 4.12%, Nikkei by 3.74%, Hang Seng by 2.95%, Straits Times by 2.50%, and Shanghai Composite by 1.38%.

European indices from Germany, France, and the UK were also quoting higher between 0.5% and 1.3% in early trade.

Brokers attributed the sustained rise in shares to hopes of an early recovery in the economy, but fears of political uncertainty after the general election might cap the rally.

Hectic buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) was one of the main reasons for the current rally in the Sensex, which flared up by 1,235.72 points or 12.91% in the six-session gaining string.

The FIIs pumped in nearly Rs1,676 crore in four trading days since April 1, including the provisional figure for April 8.

Meanwhile, inflation declined to a three-decade low of 0.26% in the fourth week of March from 0.31% in the previous week as the economy faces a slowdown, raising expectations of rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India in its monetary policy later this month.

India's industrial production (IIP) contracted by 1.2% in February, compared to the 9.5% growth a year ago, despite stimulus packages announced by the government.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Steel spurted by 7.71%, Jaiprakash Associates by 7.40%, REL Infra by 5.66%, ICICI Bank by 5.62%, DLF by 4.83%, Sterlite Industries by 3.15% and L&T by 2.76%.

Hindustan Unilever Limited declined by 3.26%, M&M by 3.15%, Wipro by 2.80% and ONGC by 2.42%.

The total market depth remained positive with 1,783 gainers against 789 losers at close on the BSE. The total trading volume remained high and improved further to Rs5,932.83 crore from Rs5,437.91 crore on Wednesday.

From the sectoral indices, the realty index jumped by 104.92 points or 5.42%, the metal index by 243.94 points or 3.72%, and the Bankex by 129.98 points or 2.64%, while the FMCG index dropped by 28.23 points or 1.36% and the auto index by 28.92 points or 0.87%.