Sensex recovers on higher Q3 earnings by banks; up 144 pts

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex, which had lost 39.01 points in the previous session, rose by 143.75 points to 19,151.28 with stocks in banking, realty and consumer durable sector led the upsurge.

In choppy movements, the gauge moved between 19,193.46 and 18,998.38 points, as every rise was encashed by investors, fearing the Reserve Bank of India might hike key policy rates in monetary review tomorrow to curb surging inflation.

Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, moved up by 46.75 points to 5,743.25, after moving between 5,756 and 5,697.75.

Marketmen said there was selective buying by funds and retail investors, in view of handsome Q3 profits that have been announced by the country's largest lender State Bank of India and private largest lender ICICI Bank.

They said some investors adopted cautious approach before the RBI meeting against the backdrop of high inflation, which has led to cautious approach by investors, capping the gains.

The banking sector index gained the most by 2.40 per cent to 12,645.88 as SBI spurted by Rs 95.15 to Rs 2,693.10 on higher quarter earnings, and forecast of 20-22 per cent loan growth in fiscal 2012 due to strong credit demand. ICICI Bank also shot up by Rs 18.05 to Rs 1,083.90.

The consumer durable index was second best performer, rising 1.93 per cent to 6,171.12, followed by PSU index by 1.20 per cent to 8,897.98. The realty sector index rose by 0.91 per cent to 2,517.59.

The upsurge in the market was checked to some extent as heavy-weight on the index, Reliance Industries, fell by Rs 15.45 to Rs 9,71.05 as the quarter earnings reported by the company was short of the investors expectation.

As investors looked for low-valuation attractive scrips, the midcap index rose by 0.84 per cent to 7,252.35 and smallcap index by 0.79 per cent to 10,002.10.