Sensex gains 77 pts while closing at record high of 10,879

Mumbai, Mar 16 (UNI) The BSE Sensex closed at a new all-time high of 10,878.74 points, with a gain of 77 points, on the back of good gains in the blue chips led by Reliance Industries and the Tata pack.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) 50-share S&P CNX Nifty Index also closed at new record high of 3,226.60 points with a gain of 0.98 per cent or 31.25 points.

With the US market indices Dow Jones, Nasdaq and NYSE closing in the green after a gain of less than a per cent, the Sensex opened with a huge gain of 58 points at 10,859 over its last close of 10,801 points.

However, it moved in a narrow range and touched a high of 10,889 and a low of 10,830 in the day's trading.

The Indian markets were in a tight spot with the Asia's largest market index - the Japanese Nikkei closing 1.37 per cent lower, somewhat restricting the gains.

Maximum gains were seen in the BSE sectoral indices of oil and gas, metal, and automobile.

The sectoral indices of the BSE ending in the red were - smallcap, consumer durables and FMCG, while the healthcare index closed flat.

Reliance Industries led today's market rally with a gain of 3.56 per cent or Rs 26.45 at Rs 768.50.

The top gainers on the 30-share Sensex were - Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Steel, Satyam Computers, HDFC, Grasim Industries, BHEL, Maruti and TCS.

The top losers were - Ranbaxy Lab, NTPC, Larsen&Toubro, ITC, Wipro, Dr Reddy's Lab, Infosys Technologies and Hindustan Lever.

Indo-Tech Transformers made a grand debut on the stock markets today gaining 86.54 per cent closing at Rs 242.50, as against the issue price of Rs 130 for Rs 10 share. The scrip touched a high of Rs 248 after listing at Rs 135 per share on the NSE, as against the issue price of Rs 130 for Rs 10 share.

Pratibha Industries, another company to be listed today, also had a good day. It opened at Rs 150 as against the issue price of Rs 120 for Rs 10 share and closed at Rs 179.80 with a gain of 49.83 per ent. The scrip touched a high of Rs 189.90 in the intra-day trading whereas the intra-day low was 141.

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