Sensex surges 178 pts, Nifty regains 8600-mark on reform hopes

Stock markets today rose for the second straight day with the benchmark Sensex rising 178.35 points to end at 28,533.97 and the Nifty index reclaiming the 8,600-mark powered by a rebound in bluechips amid hopes of faster reforms and optimism over the upcoming Budget.

After surging to 28,618.91 points on value-buying, the Sensex slipped partially to end at 28,533.97, logging a net gain of 178.35 points, or 0.63 per cent. Intra-day, it hit day's low of 28,424.39. Yesterday, the index snapped a seven-day downtrend by rising 128.23 points.

Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty recaptured the crucial 8,600-mark by rising 61.85 points, or 0.72 per cent, to close at 8,627.40. It moved between 8,593.65 and 8,651.95 intra-day.

Good buying was seen in midcap and smallcap shares too. The BSE Midcap index was up 1.55 per cent and the Smallcap index rose 1.47 per cent.

Sentiments were buoyed largely on increased buying by participants on optimism over forthcoming Budget that may propose growth boosting measures with focus on more spending on infrastructure sector, equity brokers said.

Besides, covering-up of short positions by speculators also helped stocks to recover, they added.

Gains in Sensex were powered by Axis Bank that climbed 2.87 per cent, followed by L&T with a gain of 2.57 per cent after falling sharply in past few days.

Other gainers which supported the key indices include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, RIL, Hero MotoCorp, Hind Unilever, ITC Ltd, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Coal India and Bajaj Auto.

In the 30-Sensex pack, 21 constituents ended higher while eight finished in the negative zone. Sensex laggards include ONGC, SBI, Tata Motors, Wipro, Cipla, Bharti Airtel and BHEL.

Globally, a mixed trend in Asia and a slightly better trend in European markets influenced trading sentiments here.

Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors sold shares worth a net Rs 1,261.19 crore yesterday, according to bourses.

Sectorwise, the BSE Capital Goods Index gained the most by surging 2 per cent, followed by Metal index 1.68 per cent.

Healthcare 1.25 per cent, Power 1.16 per cent, Banking 1.05 per cent, FMCG 0.85 per cent, Oil&Gas 0.82 per cent and Auto 0.80 per cent were among the winners.