Mumbai, Sept 2: The BSE Sensex rose for the third session in a row today to reach 2-week high of 16,821.46, up 145 points, as investors picked up strong stocks at lower levels despite spurt in food inflation to double-digit and weak global markets.
There was good buying in metals, auto, refinery and realty stocks on renewed buying by foreign funds. FIIs pumped in Rs 485.40 crore on August 29 and Rs 620.90 crore on Tuesday as per provisional Sebi data.
RIL, the top heavyweight on Sensex, was the most sought after stock and gained 3.06 per cent. In three trading days, it has gained 11.93 per cent and has been major contributer to the market gains.
Sensex gained nearly 828 points in the two sessions on Monday and Tuesday. It was closed for the next two days, missing out on global rally.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer opened strong and touched a high of 16,989.86. Then, it fell sharply to a low of 16,688.06. However, it moved up again and closed at 16,821.46, net gain of 144.71 points or 0.87 per cent.
The wide-based NSE 50-issue Nifty also improved further by 39.00 points or 0.78 per cent to close at 5,040.
“Due to the shortened week, Indian stock markets were unable to participate in the global rally of the last two days,” said Shanu Goel, Senior Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio.
She added, however, “The buying momentum was bit subdued since the domestic sentiments were cautious as food inflation has breached the double-digit limit, coming at 10.05 per cent for the week ended August 20.”
Brokers said inflation has investors worried because the Reserve Bank has raised interest rates 11 times to tame the rate of price rise to curb consumer spending. It has made loans costly, hitting corporate margins. It is widely feared that RBI might raise rates again at its next monetary policy review later this month.
After a gap of five months, food inflation entered double digit, reaching 10.05 per cent for the week ended August 20 from 9.80 per cent in the preceding week.
In Asia, markets ended in the red after the fall on Wall Street. Key indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan lost between 0.01 per cent and 1.81 per cent.
European markets were weak in the afternoon deals. The CAC was down 2.66 per cent, the DAX by 2.83 per cent and the FTSE by 1.94 per cent. US stocks index futures indicated lower opening today.
Overall, 19 of the 30 Sensex-based scrips settled with gains, while others finished with losses.
Realty major DLF was the top gainer from the Sensex pack, up 5.93 per cent, followed by Tata Steel (4.26 pc), Sterlite Ind (4.04 pc), M&M (3.87 pc), Bajaj Auto (3.21 pc), Coal India (3.19 pc), Sun Pharma (3.09 pct, Hindalco by 2.56 pct, Tata Motors by 1.81 pct, ICICI Bank by 1.60 pct, ITC by 1.60 pct, Bharti Airtel by 1.10 pct and Jindal Steel by 1.10 pct.
However, Tata Power declined 2.13 per cent, TCS (1.82 pc), BHEL (1.74 pc), NTPC (1.56 pc), Infosys (1.16 pc) and Maruti Suzuki (1.03 pc).
The total market breadth at BSE remained positive as 1,660 shares closed in the green, while 1,157 ended in the red. The total turnover dropped to Rs 2,194.37 crore from Rs 2,616.94 crore last Tuesday. PTI
