Sensex goes up for the third day in a row

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Monday closed 76 points or 0.38 percent up riding on the hope of a good earnings season.

The index went up for the third day in a row. Almost all the sectors were in green expect IT and power sectors. The rally was led by fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), capital goods, banking index (bankex) and oil and gas.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,926.10 points, closed at 20,034.48 points, up 76.01 points or 0.38 percent from the previous day's close at 19,958.47 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,072.44 points and a low of 19,883.19 points intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended 0.36 percent or 21.80 points up at 6,030.80 points.

The S&P BSE FMCG index went up by 82.58 points, capital goods index moved up by 84.97 points, bankex increased by 96.19 points and oil and gas inched up by 63.50 points. However, IT index dropped by 2.08 points and power index slipped by 12.93 points.

The major Sensex gainers were: Hindalco Industries, up 3.69 percent at Rs.105.40; Sterlite Industries, up 3.28 percent at Rs.91.20; Bharti Airtel, up 3.20 percent at Rs.314.70; Mahindra & Mahindra, up 2.46 percent at Rs.927.90; Tata Consultancy Services, up 2.20 percent at Rs.1,641.40; and Bajaj Auto, up 2.11 percent at Rs.1,907.

The major losers were: NTPC, down 2.64 percent at Rs.142.25; Coal India, down 2.50 percent at Rs.292.50; Infosys, down 2.17 percent at Rs.2,741.85; and Tata Steel, down 2.07 percent at Rs.257.35.