Sensex ends off highs; L&T surges 4.21%

The Sensex ended on a positive note led by realty, banking and IT stocks. It opened on a firm note with a gain of 120.31 points, at 11,067.71 on Friday in line with global cues. Later, it gained further ground on account of intense buying interest seen in frontliners touching a high of 11,339.47. As the day progressed, it lost its earlier gains by shedding most of its points on profit taking, touching a low of 10,946.25.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap index rose 0.98% and 0.57% respectively.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty surged 3.13%, Bankex, IT, Capital goods rose over 2% each, Power moved up 1.01%, while Metal was marginally down by 1.66%.

In overseas market, Asian stocks advanced, as earnings reports from Toshiba and JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted confidence the global recession is easing. Nikkei rose 152.32 points, or 1.74%, to end at 8,907.58, Hang Seng index gained 18.28 points, or 0.12%, to close at 15,601.27 and Shanghai Composite declined 30.20 points, or 1.19%, to settle at 2,503.94.

European stocks fell, reversing earlier gains, led by Hammerson after the region`s third largest real estate investment trust by market value was downgraded at UBS. FTSE 100 rose 34.09% or 0.84% at 4,087.07, CAC 40 climbed 43.28 points, or 1.42%, to trade at 3,081.46 and DAX increased by 46.13 points, or 1%, to trade at 4,655.59. (4.20 p.m., IST)

The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 75.69 points, or 0.69% at 11,023.09 after touching a high of 11,339.47 and a low of 10,946.25. The broad-based NSE Nifty gained 14.90 points, or 0.44% at 3,384.40 after hitting a high of 3,489.85 and a low of 3,359.25

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Larsen & Toubro (4.21%), Infosys Technologies (3.86%), State Bank Of India(3.54%), ICICI Bank (3.53%), Reliance Energy (2.30%), and Housing Development Finance Corporation (2.25%).

On the other hand, Hindalco Industries (5.18%), Tata Steel (4.03%), Sterlite Industries (India) (3.12%), Tata Motors (2.86%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (2.48%), and ITC (1.93%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was positive. Out of the total 2,650 stocks traded at BSE, 1,362 advanced, 1,194 declined while 94 remained unchanged.