By IANS
Mumbai : The Indian stock markets responded enthusiastically Tuesday to a people-friendly railways budget presented in parliament and ended on a positive note for the second consecutive day.
There was heavy buying in steel, security and IT sectors scrips, propelled by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad’s emphasis on expansion, automation and security.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,799.56 points and notched a high of 17,860.10 before closing at 17,806.19 points. It gained 155.62 points or 0.88 percent at the day’s close.
The S&P CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which opened at 5,200.80 points, closed at 5,270.05 points after touching the day’s high at 5,281.20 points.
At close, it registered a gain of 69.35 points or 1.33 percent.
The BSE Midcap index, which closed at 7,690.86 points, went up by 96.45 points or 1.27 percent. Similarly, the BSE Smallcap index, which closed at 9,648.49 points, went up 122.21 points or 1.28 percent.
On BSE, the market breadth was positive with high trading volumes. A total of 1,652 shares advanced, 1,074 declined and 59 remained unchanged.
Other Asian markets closed in the green, barring Japan’s Nikkei 225, which closed in the red and South Korea’s Kospi, which remained neutral Tuesday.
The top gainers of the day at BSE included Grasim at Rs.3,042.70, up 5.06 percent, Reliance Energy at Rs.1,697.25, up 4.59 percent, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd at Rs.2,180.55, up 4.58 percent and Infosys at Rs.1,662.10, up 3.02 percent.
The top losers of the day at BSE included Bharati Airtel at Rs.838.80, down 1.38 percent, Housing Development Finance Corp at Rs.2,574.35, down 0.48 percent, Tata Motors at Rs.702.10, down 0.46 percent and State Bank of India at Rs.2,119.85, down 0.36 percent.