Sensex ends firm at 9,788 pts, up by 1,086 pts

Mumbai, Nov 1 (UNI) The BSE 30-share Sensex surged by 1,086.99 points, or 12.49 per cent, to 9,788.06 in the week ended yesterday on sustained heavy speculative demand along with bullish advices from global marekts.

Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty index of National Stock Exchange (NSE) also rose by 301.6 points to 2,885.60 in the week.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose by 104.34 points to 3,200.02 and the BSE Small-Cap index rose 103.28 points to 3,765.11. Both the indices underperformed the Sensex.

Brokers said ''Key benchmark indices bounced back, closely mirroring their global counterparts, which rallied after central banks across the globe cut interest rate to tackle financial crisis.

The market sentiment also got a boost as India's inflation rate fell below 11 pc for the first time since May. It was a truncated week with stock markets closed on October 28 and October 30 for the Diwali holidays. A special one-hour Muhurat trading session was held on Tuesday to mark the beginning of the new Samvat year 2065.

The US Federal Reserve cut its main policy rate to one pc on October 29, to stave off the credit crunch. China reduced rates earlier on October 29, with Taiwan and Hong Kong following up with rate cuts on October 30. The Bank of Japan announced a 20 basis points cut in interest rate on October 31.

October was a very bad month for stock market investors, as the BSE 30-share Sensex declined 3,072.37 points, or 23.89 pc, to 9,788.06 in the month. The barometer index is down 10,498.93 points, or 51.75 pc, in the calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on December 31, 2007. It is 11,418.71 points, or 53.84 pc, below its all-time high of 21,206.77 struck on January 10.

Volatility characterised trading during the mid-week. Short covering of derivatives positions ahead of the expiry on October 29, triggered a sharp intra-day pullback in the second half of the day's trading session after indices plunged to over three-year low in the first half, spooked by weak global equities. Firm global markets and relaxation of creeping acquisition norms for promoters boosted the battered bourses on the special one-hour Muhurat trading session that was held on October 28.

Expiry of the near month October 2008 derivatives contracts caused high volatility on October 29. Gains in some Asian and European markets supported domestic bourses. The BSE 30-share Sensex gained 36.43 points, or 0.4 pc, to 9.044.51. The S&P CNX Nifty was up 12.45 points, or 0.46 pc, to 2,697.05.

Ending one of the worst months in history, the market surged yesterday, as it caught up rally in global stocks October 30, triggered by a steep 50 basis points rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and oil refiner, Reliance Industries (RIL), jumped 34.98 pc to Rs 1,370.75 in the week. Reliance Communications rose 14.12 pc to Rs 220.70. Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom services provider by market share, hiked 21.43 pc to Rs 649. Net profit declined 0.9 pc to Rs 1,604.78 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

India's largest state-run bank by net profit, State Bank of India (SBI), fell 4.05 pc Rs 1,109.50 after muted growth in consolidated net profit in Q2 September. SBI reported a 10.60 pc rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,378.19 crore on a 26.4 pc increase in consolidated total income to Rs 27,083.47 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007. The consolidated earnings included numbers of recently acquired State Bank of Saurashtra.

ICICI Bank, India's second largest private sector lender by market capitalisation, soared 28.82 pc to Rs 399.35. Net profit rose 1.2 pc to Rs 1,014.21 crore and operating income 1.3 pc to Rs 9,712.31 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been pulling out their investments from India and other emerging markets to shore up resources to beat the global liquidity crunch. In India, FIIs were net sellers of Rs 14,272.40 crore till October 28. FIIs had sold Indian shares amounting to Rs 5,1064.10 crore in the calendar year 2008. On the other hand, mutual funds have been buying. Their net inflow in October totaled Rs 848.20 crore till October 28.

Derivative contracts for October 2008 series expired on October 29, with rollovers more or less similar to previous series.

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