By IANS
Mumbai : Buoyed by a steady rise in blue-chip shares, a key Indian stock market index closed at its three-month high Monday while a broad-based index recorded a new high.
The 30-share benchmark Sensitive Index ('Sensitive Index') of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed 0.81 percent or 115.19 points at 14,418.60, its highest close since Feb 9 when it breached the 14,700 mark.
Similarly, the broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange (NSE) index, Nifty, was up 1.1 percent or 46 points to a record close at 4,260.90, breaching its previous all-time high of 4,245.30 also set in February this year.
Leading the major index gainers were top energy producer Reliance Energy, up 7.90 percent at Rs.551.70, followed by top private steel maker Tata Steel, up 5.39 percent at Rs.622.90 and the country's largest private firm Reliance Industries, up 3.66 percent at Rs.1,761.55, gaining Rs.62.15 over its last trade.
Second largest private lender HDFC Bank, state-run energy major ONGC, top tobacco firm ITC, leading private telecom service provider Reliance Communication, top lender state-run State Bank of India, top car maker Maruti Udyog and leading housing finance firm HDFC were among the other major index shares that traded in the green.
Top multi-utility vehicle maker Tata Motors led the major losers of the day, down 2.43 percent at Rs.724.70, followed by software export major Wipro, down 1.69 percent at Rs.534.75, and top two- and three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto, down 1.68 percent at Rs.2,248.40.
However, software firms and drug makers took a beating.
Software major Satyam Computers, top software exporter TCS, IT major Infosys Technologies, drug major Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, its smaller rival Cipla and top two-wheeler maker Hero Honda were among the major index losers of the day.