Sensex up over 105 points; bank stocks gain (Third Lead)

A slew of reforms announced by the government and relief from Greece crisis led a barometer index of the Indian equity markets to make healthy gains during the late-afternoon trade session on Friday.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was trading with gains of over 105 points or 0.38 percent during the late-afternoon trade session.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading in the positive territory. It was up by 25.65 points or 0.30 percent at 8,470.55 points.

The 30-scrip S&P BSE Sensex, which opened at 27,973.12 points, was trading at 28,053.07 points (at 2.30 p.m.), up 107.27 points or 0.38 percent from its previous day's close at 27,945.80 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 28,135.43 points and a low of 27,897.45 points so far in the trade.

"The partial relief from the Greece crisis, at least till Sunday. Announcements by the government on the capex front, Digital India campaign and a slew of positive macro numbers supported the markets" were factors behind the rally, said Anand James, co-head technical research desk, Geojit BNP Paribas.

"There is also hope of better first quarter (Q1) numbers due to be released soon. Factors like lower inflation, easing of monetary policy and stable rupee are expected to be translated into better Q1 numbers," James added.

Even the fall in crude oil prices on Thursday from $59 per barrel in the futures market to below $57 per barrel brought some cheer to the Indian markets.

India is a major importer of crude oil, with over 70 percent of its demand met by imports. The crude oil's sharp fall follows the US data showing higher inventory rise.

During Friday's intra-day trade so far, healthy buying took place in bank, capital goods, healthcare, consumer durables and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors.

The S&P BSE bank index increased by 96.92 points, capital goods index augmented by 91.28 points, healthcare index rose by 77.62 points, consumer durables index gained by 65.37 points and FMCG index was up by 29.08 points.

The S&P BSE metal index was lower by 146.64 points, followed by automobile index which fell by 77.48 points, oil and gas index declined by 24.00 points, realty index was down 8.25 points and technology, entertainment and media (TECK) index slipped by 4.52 points.