By IANS
Mumbai : Buoyed by firming global markets, Indian shares Thursday showed a strong upward trend, with finance and cements stocks pulling up a key index by 1.43 percent in a broad-based rally.
The 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up 200.69 points or 1.43 percent to close at 14,203.72 after dipping below the 14,000-level Wednesday. Twenty of its components closed higher.
The broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange (NSE) index, Nifty, too was up 56.95 points or 1.38 percent to close at 4,170.
Housing finance company HDFC led the Sensex gainers, up 4.24 percent at Rs.1,825.25, followed by cement maker ACC, up 3.36 percent at Rs.825.30, and India's largest steel producer Tata Steel, up 3.18 percent at Rs.614.15.
Cement major Grasim Industries, state-run heavy electrical equipment maker BHEL, construction and engineering firm Larsen & Toubro, leading private sector telecom service provider Bharti Airtel, largest aluminium producer Hindalco Industries, state-run energy explorer ONGC and largest lender state-owned State Bank of India were among the other major Sensex gainers.
Leading the losers was top two-wheeler maker Hero Honda, down 1.65 percent at Rs.683.50, followed by largest private sector lender ICICI Bank, down 0.78 percent at Rs.905.75 and multi-utility vehicle maker Tata Motors, down 0.47 percent at Rs.642.65.
Top cigarette maker ITC was down 0.23 percent at Rs.151.65.