RIL, ONGC lead stock surge

Heavy buying by foreign and domestic institutional investors saw the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex rise 2.25 per cent, or 339 points, to close at a 10-month closing high at 15,466. The rally was led by index heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) as global crude oil price touched $71 a barrel after settling above $70 for the first time in over seven months. Firm global markets too helped the rally.

The broader index S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose 2.29 per cent, or 104 points, at 4,655.

"It is futile to think about levels. If the money flow continues this way, then the Nifty could be at the 5,000 levels. But we are trading nearly 15 per cent higher to the fair value of the index," said Ambrish Baliga, equity vice-president of Mumbai-based Karvy Stock Broking.

Baliga believes that the rally could continue till the Budget is announced, and a correction could follow thereafter.

As per the BSE provisional figures, FIIs were net purchasers of stock worth Rs 738 crore, while DIIs brought stocks worth Rs 589.88 crore in the cash segment. The Sensex has gained 92 per cent from its 2009 lows, hit in early March and the rise was driven by a $7-billion FII inflow.