Sensex settles above 11k mark; Realty zooms 8.79%

The Sensex rallied further on account of intense buying by funds and realty investors. Realty, capital goods, banking and power stocks gained further ground while IT dropped. It opened on a weak note with a loss of 162.08 points, at 10,805.14 on Wednesday as Infosys results came out with disappointing numbers. As the day progressed, the index recovered from day`s low of 10,719.18 and gained further ground breaking 11,000 levels on heavy buying seen in frontliners. Finally it wrapped on a cheerful note after touching a high of Rs 11,337.75.

Secondline stocks also performed well. BSE Midcap and Smallcap index surged 3.95% and 5.32% respectively.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty zoomed 8.79%, Capital goods soared 7.36%, Power surged 5.19%, Bankex increased by 4.53%, while IT dipped 1.71%.

On global front, Asian stocks dropped after US retail sales unexpectedly declined and a stronger yen dimmed the earnings outlook for Japan`s electronics and auto companies. Nikkei fell 99.72 points, or 1.13%, to end at 8,742.96, Hang Seng index rose 89.46 points, or 0.57%, to close at 15,669.62 and Shanghai Composite advanced 8.88 points, or 0.35%, to settle at 2,536.06.

European stocks fell led by mining companies after Rio Tinto Group reported a drop in iron-ore output and base metal prices slid. FTSE 100 fell 4.32 points, or 0.11%, to trade at 3,984.67, CAC 40 declined 16.25 points, or 0.54%, to trade at 2,983.97 and DAX decreased 24.65 points, or 0.54%, to trade at 4,532.36. (4.03 p.m., IST).

The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 317.51 points, or 2.90% at 11,284.73 after touching a high of 11,337.75 and a low of 10,719.18. The broad-based NSE Nifty climbed 101.55 points, or 3.00% at 3,484.15 after hitting a high of 3,497.55 and a low of 3,311.80.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Reliance Capital (13.84%), Tata Motors (11.50%), DLF (10.00%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (9.48%), Reliance Energy (7%), and ICICI Bank (6.77%).

On the other hand, Infosys Technologies (2.72%), Tata Consultancy Services (2.39%), HDFC Bank (1.17%), Tata Power Company (0.86%), Sterlite Industries (India) (0.75%), and ITC (0.72%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was extremely positive. Out of the total 2,703 stocks traded at BSE, 2,173 advanced, 463 declined while 67 remained unchanged.

Corporate result

India`s second biggest software exporter, Infosys Technologies announced on Wednesday a 29.14% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in consolidated earnings for the quarter ended March, 2009. On sequential basis, the company registered a drop of 1.71% in consolidated profit.