Rally continues, Nifty spurts by 55 points

Financials, capital goods, metal, infra, technology and pharma stocks participated in the rally over expectations of rate cut by the Reserve Bank and optimism over reforms, traders said.

The market did react to weaker-than-expected GDP number, giving away most of its gains made earlier in the day, before resuming its uptrend as the blip in the afternoon session gave a buying opportunity to investors.

Country's gross domestic product slowed down to 5.3 per cent in the three months to September compared to 5.5 per cent registered in the last quarter. But after factoring in the weak numbers, the market attracted good support to conclude the session on a high spirit.

The fall in growth rate below 6 per cent for the third quarter in a row may trigger a rating downgrade. But the market is expecting some action from the central bank, traders commented.

The RBI will meet on December 18 for its next monetary policy review.

The 50-scrip Nifty fluctuated between a high of 5,885.25 and a low of 5,827.85 before ending at 5,879.85, up by 54.85 points, or 0.94 per cent over the previous close.

Ultracemco, Jindal Steel, BHEL, ONGC, IDFC, Bank of Baroda, Hindalco, BPCL, Kotak Bank and Tata Steel were the top Nifty movers. The losers included Ranbaxy, Hindunilvr, Tata Motors, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, ACC, Reliance, Infosys and ITC.

The turnover in cash segment spurted to Rs 20,386.61 crore from Rs 19,419.96 crore yesterday. Overall, 12,648.37 lakh shares changed hands in 79,57,911 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 66,03,005 crore.