Sensex gains 98 pts; RIL, TCS, ICICI Bank among gainers

The benchmark BSE S&P Sensex today registered by 98 points gain on fag-end buying in bluechip stocks such as RIL, TCS, ICICI Bank and Infosys amid sustained capital inflows.
Last-minute buying in metal, IT, consumer durables, auto, teck and refinery stocks pushed the Sensex up by 98 points, or 0.50 per cent, to conclude at 19,673.64. The index had lost 160 points in the previous session.
"The rally was able to hold ground at higher levels on back of strong surge in metals stocks as well as continuing rally in the IT stocks. Index heavy weight Reliance Industries too gained about 2.6 per cent," said Nagji K Rita, Chairman & MD, Inventure Growth and Securities.

Banking stocks, which were mostly down at mid-session after media website Coprapost alleged that 23 major banks and insurance companies were part of the money laundering racket, recovered later to end in the positive terrain.
Fall in the HSBC Composite Output Index to 50.5 in April, slowest pace of growth in one-and-a-half years, from 51.4 in March also impacted negatively in the afternoon trade, brokers said.
Central Bureau of Investigation today said it has filed a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court on its probe into the coal blocks allocation, naming who made changes in CBI's draft status report on coal scam, also affected the market at mid-session, they added.

In 30-BSE index components, 21 scrips ended higher while remaining nine finished lower.

Tata Steel at 3.58 per cent was the biggest gainer of the day followed by Hindalco at 3.52 per cent and TCS at 3.25 per cent. Hero MotoCorp gained 2.32 per cent, Jindal Steel at 2.26 per cent, Tata Motors at 2.02 per cent and ICICI Bank at 1.28 per cent. Software major Infosys rose 1.46 per.
Among the sectoral indices, S&P BSE-Metal rose by 1.98 per cent followed by S&P BSE-IT 1.88 per cent, S&P BSE-Teck 1.55 per cent, S&P BSE-CD 1.51 per cent, S&P BSE-Auto 1.39 per cent and S&P BSE-Oil&Gas 1.27 per cent.

The 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also recouped by 27.05 points or 0.46 pct to 5,971.05.