Markets extend rally on reforms talk

The Sensex today opened at 16,191 - up 33 points. However, the index slipped into the negative zone in late morning trades to a low of 16,147. Reforms talk by the Prime Minister at the on-going India Eco Summit coupled with firm global cues saw the markets rebound into green. As the buying gained momentum, the Sensex surged 370 points from its low to touch a high of 16,517. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 340 points (2%) at 16,499.

Continuing last week's rally, the Sensex has jumped 1,094 points in the last four trading sessions.

The Nifty ended at 4,898 - up 102 points.

Asian markets, too, ended in the green today with the Hang Seng surging 378 points to 22,209. The Straits Times added over 1%.

The BSE bankex rallied on hopes of a global recovery as the Prime Minister confirmed that the economy was definitely improving from the recession. The index gained 5% to 10,156. The consumer durable, oil & gas, metal, realty and FMCG indices were up over 2% each. The PM, on Sunday, also spoke about dis-investment and opening up of the insurance sector.

The market breadth was positive today. Out of 2,796 stocks traded 1,993 stocks advanced while 756 declined.

INDEX MOVERS...

Reliance surged 3.5% to Rs 2,319, contributing more than 70 points to the Sensex's rally today.

Banking stocks gained considerably. SBI and ICICI Bank rallied 5% each to Rs 2,319 and Rs 889, respectively. HDFC Bank gained 4% at Rs 1,706.

ITC added 4% to Rs 258. Tata Power advanced 3.7% to Rs 1,320 on plans of raising Rs 1,170 crore to fund its power projects.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Grasim, Hindalco, DLF, HDFC and Reliance Infrastructure were also up.

...AND THE SHAKERS

Telecom stocks remained weak through the day. Bharti Airtel slumped 4% to Rs 308. Reliance Communications shed 2% at Rs 174.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPRS...

Mahindra Satyam topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 171.61 crore, followed by SBI (Rs 167.06 crore), Reliance (Rs 153.74 crore), HDIL (Rs 149.92 crore) and DLF (Rs 39.31 crore).

The volume chart on the BSE was led by Suzlon with trades of 15.56 million shares, followed by Mahindra Satyam (15.48 million), Unitech (13.16 million), IFCI (10.90 million) and Ispat Industries (8.14 million).