Sensex rallies by 176 pts during the week

Mumbai, Nov 8: The 30-share Sensex of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose by 176.23 points or 1.80 per cent at 9,964.29 in the week ended yesterday, on fresh speculative demand by mutual funds and others following recent chopping of key rates by RBI.

The BSE Sensex edged higher in three out of the five trading sessions, a leading brokers said. The S &P CNX Nifty index of National Stock Exchange (NSE) also gained 87.30 points or 3.02 per cent at 2,973 in the week. The BSE Mid-Cap rose by 155.35 points or 4.85 per cent at 3,355.38 and the BSE Small-Cap index advanced by 134.99 points or 3.58 per cent at 3,900.10. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.

Key benchmark indices eked out gains in the week ended November 7, 2008, ending the six-week loosing streak, helped by global central bank measures to tackle the turmoil in the financial markets.

Central banks across the globe were seen rushing to cut interest rates during the week to shore up the world economy and calm panicked financial markets. The European Central Bank cut its key rate by 0.50 per cent to 3.25 per cent on November 6. The Bank of England slashed its benchmark interest rate by 1.5 per cent points on November 6 to three per cent. Meanwhile, central banks in Switzerland, South Korea, Denmark and Czech Republic also announced rate cuts during the week.

In late October 2008, the US Federal Reserve slashed its key-lending rate by a half point to match a historic low of one per cent.

UNI