Sensex rises to 9-month high in 5-day rally

 The Sensex, which gained nearly 1,250 points in the last four trading sessions, rose further by 34.28 points at 14,874.91, after touching the day's high of 14,994.31.

However, the 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty ended lower by 4.65 points at 4,525.25 as the market turned volatile mid-way.

Trading was volatile as investors booked profits at some counters at existing higher levels.

The barometer has surged 22 per cent since the ruling Congress won its biggest election victory since 1991, on speculation that the government will introduce reforms to free the economy and boost growth.

Despite the market remaining low most of the session, the undercurrent remained bullish on firming trends in the US on reports that the manufacturing index rose to 42.8 from 40.1 in April.

In the Sensex pack, the stocks of Infosys, Housing Development Finance Ltd, ICICI Bank, Sterlite Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel and Tata Motors performed well.

The rally was backed by Tata Steel, which surged 8.24 per cent to Rs 474.05, and Sterlite Industries, the biggest copper and zinc producer, climbed 3.87 per cent, as copper futures rose to their highest in six weeks in Shanghai.

The consumer durables sector index gained the most, 2.63 per cent, to 2,906.55, followed by the metal index, by 2.48 per cent to 11,740.89. The auto index gained 1.37 per cent to 4,764.30.

Other sector indices in the positive zone were capital goods, IT, healthcare and FMCG. As buying was spread widely, the smallcap and midcap indices recorded handsome gains.

On the other hand, stocks in realty, power, public sector undertakings, banks and oil and gas recorded moderate losses on profit selling.