Rel Energy leads rally, BSE Sensex surges higher

Mumbai, Oct 1: Led by Reliance Energy, the stock markets continued their upsurge, with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex registering a net gain of 37.52 points to settle at 17,328.62 points, before touching an all-time high of 17,425.34 points today.

The trend was similar at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), where the S&P Cnx Nifty index advanced further by 47.60 points to close at 5068.95 points from the previous close of 5021.35 points.

The markets in the US were in the red last friday, while most Asian markets were in the positive zone, dealers said.

The market mover, Reliance Energy (REL) shot up by Rs 143.90 to Rs1349. It struck an all time high of Rs 1,385 today and was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. Reliance Power, the Anil Ambani group firm, in which REL holds 50 per cent stake, will raise U S Dollars 2.5 billion in the country"s largest power sector IPO, dealers said.

Reliance Power, which is implementing a clutch of large power generation projects across the country, will sell 10-15 per cent to the public and institutions in the coming months to fund various projects, they said.

Earlier in the noon, the market came sharply off higher level after it had struck lifetime high in late afternoon trade. A sharp fall in Reliance Industries (RIL) pulled the market off higher level in late trade, dealers said.

Mid-cap and small-cap indices touched all-time highs today. Market breadth was strong. European markets recovered from early slide.

Asian markets were firm today.

In opening trade, the market had come off higher level soon after a firm start as political concerns took centrestage wth CPI (M) veteran Jyoti Basu on Saturday ruling out the possibility of any compromise on the issue of Left"s opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The market had opened on a firm note after tame US inflation data reinforced expectations of another cut in US interest rates.

The opposition of Communists to the Indo-US nuclear also forced players to remain cautious, dealers said.

Among the other gainers, State-run power producer NTPC rose 6.49 per cent to Rs 206 on hopes of higher valuation after Reliance Energy's proposed initial public offering of its subsidiary Reliance Power. It touched an all-time high of Rs 207.90 today.

ONGC rose 4.09 per cent to Rs 997.10. It hit an all time high of Rs 1,015.

Reliance Communication (up 3.98 per cent to Rs 608.95) was another major gainers from the Sensex pack.

State Bank of India (down 2.93 per cent to Rs 1,893.50) was the top loser amongst the Sensex pack. ITC (down 1.98 per cent to Rs 185.95, Bajaj Auto (down 2.19 per cent to Rs 2,484.10), BHEL (down 2.1 per cent to Rs 1,990.05) and, HDFC Bank (down 2.44% to Rs 1,404) were the major losers amongst the Sensex pack.

Among the sectoral indices Bankex was the top most loser.

Among side counters, Binani Industries (up 20 per cent to Rs 270), Spentex Industries (up 20 per cent to Rs 34.50), Hatsun Agro Products (up 20 per cent to Rs 259.55), Brady&Morris (up 20 per cent to Rs 229.40) and SPL Polymers (up20 per cent to Rs 7.56) spurted.

Reliance Capital rose 13.17 per cent to Rs 1,793.10 on BSE, on continued buying interest.

Reflecting the trend at the BSE, the BSE OIL and Gas, PSU, Realty, Tech, Consumer Goods finished with gains while BSE Auto, Bankex, FMCG declined today.

The BSE and NSE combine clocked a total turnover of Rs 25,000 crore.

Asian markets extended their recent rally. South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 0.83 per cent at 1,962.67, Singapore's Straits Times (up 1.32 per cent at 3,755.22) and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 0.13 per cent to 9,488.50) and Japan's Nikkei (up 0.36 per cent at 16,845.96 after it opened on a weak note) edged higher.

European markets opened after the Indian markets recovered from early slide today. Germany"s DAX (up 0.08 per cent to 7,868.39), UK"s FTSE 100 (up 0.35 per cent to 6,489.80) and France"s CAC (up 0.05 per cent to 5,718) edged higher.

US stocks and bonds slipped as the dollar fell to a record low on last friday, amid concerns that US economic growth would continue to slow down.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 17.31 points, or 0.12 per cent at 13,895.63. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index fell 4.63 points, or 0.30 per cent at 1,526.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.09 points, or 0.3 per cent to 2,701.50.

US crude for November 2007 delivery lost U S Dollar 1.23 to settled at U S Dollars 81.65 a barrel last Friday, below its all-time high of U S Dollars 83.90.

UNI