BSE Sensex resumes up at 12,691.24 pts

Mumbai, Apr 4: The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) sensitive index today resumed firm at 12,691.24 points, with a modest gain of around 67 points, from its last close of 12,624.58 points on fresh speculative demand from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and mutual funds.

The market surged in the opening trade, led by banking, IT and telecom shares. The market was buoyant due to firm global markets, drop in oil prices and decent-to-strong overnight gains by the Indian ADRs. However, cement scrips retreated after the government scrapped import duty on cement.

Later, the Sensex recorded a high of 12,835.36 points and a low of 12,691.24 points in the mid-morning session.

The S&P CNX Nifty index of National Stock Exchange (NSE), however, opened flat at 3,689.75 points. Later, it registered a high of 3,751.40 and a low of 3,689.75 during the same period. The index is at present is trading at 3,728.10 points, with a modest gain of around 38 points, from its previous close of 3,690.65 points.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements shed 3.4 per cent to Rs 101.75, Grasim eased by 1.8 per cent to Rs 2065 and ACC also dropped by 1.6 per cent to Rs 693. The government abolished countervailing duty (CVD) of 16 per cent and an additional customs duty of 4 per cent on portland cement with immediate effect.

''Government expects cement manufacturers, in the larger interest of consumers and for checking inflation, will take appropriate measures for moderating cement prices,'' a Finance Ministry statement said yesterday.

IT shares edged higher, tracking overnight gains in ADRs of IT pivotals. Satyam Computer rose by 2 per cent to Rs 468, after its ADR surged nearly 5 per cent yesterday to US 23.25 dollars. Wipro hiked by 2 per cent to Rs 545, after its ADR gained by 4.3 per cent to USD 15.93 yesterday. Infosys rose by 0.8 per cent to Rs 1981 and its ADR rose by 3.7 per cent to USD 51.69 yesterday.

Bhel surged by 3.5 per cent to Rs 2334, extending yesterday's rally, after the company reported 42 per cent growth in its provisional net profit for the year ended March 31.

Bank shares recovered for the second day in a row, after their sharp fall on Monday caused by a hike in interest rates. ICICI Bank gained 2 per cent to Rs 820, HDFC Bank rose by 1.8 per cent to Rs 929 and State Bank of India rose 1.5 per cent to Rs 941.

Stocks in Asia climbed today, with exporters leading the way after a rise in US home sales soothed concerns about the outlook for the key US market. Key benchmark indices in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were up between 0.7-1.6 per cent, brokers informed.

US stocks closed sharply higher yesterday over a drop in oil prices, calming worries about inflation, and news of an unexpected rise in home sales raised hopes that the housing market was stabilising.

The rally took the Dow and S&P 500 to their highest levels since February 27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 128 points (1.03 per cent) to 12,510.30. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index had advanced 28.07 points (1.16 per cent), to 2,450.33 last night.

US light crude for May delivery fell USD 1.50 to settle at USD 64.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) yesterday, after both Britain and Iran said they would use diplomacy to settle a row over the capture of 15 British sailors and marines, a leading broker added.

UNI