By IANS
Mumbai : In line with upward global trends and assurances by the central government, Indian stock markets Wednesday bounced back with buying support in key sectors.
The markets that opened on a flat note, managed to retrieve the lost ground of the past two days. They picked up after buying was seen in oil and gas, metals, IT, fast moving consumer goods and public sector units’ scrips.
The news of losses incurred by ICICI Bank failed to dampen investor confidence although banking scrips suffered.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 16,328.91 points and notched a high of 16,595.64 before closing at 16,542.08 points. It gained 202.19 points or 1.24 percent at the day’s close.
The S&P CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which opened at 4,866.85 points, closed at 4,921.40 after touching the day’s high at 4,936.75 points. At close, it registered a rise of 57.15 points or 1.17 percent.
The BSE Midcap index, which closed at 7,114.18 points, went down 68.05 points or 0.95 percent. The BSE Smallcap index, which closed at 8,809.79 points, went down 143.49 points or 1.60 percent.
On BSE, the market breadth was extremely low with low trading volumes. A total of 723 shares advanced, 1,967 shares declined and 48 shares remained unchanged.
All European and Asian markets, barring Dow Jones and Japan’s Nikkie 225, also closed in the green.
The top gainers of the day BSE included Satyam at Rs.434.90, up 6.97 percent, ITC at Rs.193.80, up 4.84 percent, Hindalco at Rs.208.90, up 4.50 percent and Maruti Suzuki at Rs.943.00, up 4.12 percent.
The top losers of the day at BSE were Bajaj Auto at Rs.2,122.10, down 3.53 percent, Reliance Energy at Rs.1,457.80, down 3.12 percent, Bharti Airtel at Rs.748.70, down 2.64 percent and Mahindra and Mahindra at Rs.696.00, down 1.33 percent.