Sensex ends firm; DLF soars 7.76%

The Sensex shed some of its gains towards the close due to some profit booking seen in select frontliners. Realty stocks outperformed all other stocks. Metal, consumer goods and banking stocks also supported the upmove.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex opened with a gain of 92.48 points, at 8,956.30 on Wednesday on strong global cues. As the day progressed, the Sensex marched ahead breaching the mark of 9,000 and has touched a high of 9,120.46 on sustained buying witnessed across board. Moreover the opening of European markets supported the sentiment. However, it pared some gains as profit booking was seen during the close.

Secondline stocks also performed well. BSE Midcap index and Smallcap index rose 2.36% and 1.80% respectively.

Amongst the sectors, BSE Realty gained the most. The counter soared 7.65%, Metal and Consumer surged over 3% each and Bankex rose 2.63%.

On global front, Asian stocks gained, after the Bank of Japan said it will buy more bonds from banks to spur lending. Mizuho Financial Group rose 3% in Tokyo as the central bank pledged to increase debt purchases and provide loans to banks. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei advanced 23.04 points, or 0.29%, to end at 7,972.17.Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index climbed 239.08 points, or 1.86%, to close at 13,117.17 and China`s Shanghai Composite increased 5.40 points, or 0.24%, to settle at 2,223.72.

Meanwhile, European stocks rose, as investors speculated central banks will increase efforts to buoy the economy.UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 dropped 13.47 points, or 0.35%, to trade at 3,843.63, French benchmark index CAC 40 gained 18.99 points, or 0.69%, to trade at 2,786.27 and Germany`s benchmark index DAX advanced46.25 points, or 1.16%, to trade at 4,034.02. (4.17p.m., IST)

The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 112.86 points, or 1.27% at 8,976.68 after touching a high of 9,120.46 and a low of 8,951.32. The broad-based NSE Nifty climbed 37.25 points, or 1.35% at 2,794.70 after hitting a high of 2,836.05 and a low of 2,752.25.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were DLF (7.76%), Jaiprakash Associates (6.46%), Tata Steel (4.54%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (4.28%), Reliance Energy (3.51%), and ICICI Bank (3.41%).

On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra (4.09%), Tata Power Company (2.40%), ITC (2.11%), ACC (1.46%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (0.76%), and Hindustan Unilever (0.45%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was sharply positive. Out of the total 2,590 stocks traded at BSE, 1,552 advanced, 930 declined while 108 remained unchanged.