RIL at record high on BSE; Nifty above 4000

Mumbai, Apr 16: The Sensex today soared by a whopping 311.50 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange and settled in the green at 13,695.58 points on predictions of a good monsoon, a sledgehammer performance from index-heavyweight RIL and a rally in global markets.

The broader 50-stock Nifty Index settled at a record-breaking 4,013.35 points, a jump of a mind-boggling 96 points, from its previous close of 3,917.35 points.

The market-breadth was strong. Against 1,784 stocks that rose on BSE, 791 declined. A total of 79 stocks remained unchanged. Gainers outpaced losers by a ratio of 2.25:1, experts observed.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 5,665.95 up 89 points or 1.6 per cent. The Smallcap Index ended at 6,884.13 up 128 points or 1.9 per cent. Bankex was up 1.3 per cent at 6,722.81. Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, PNB, SBI, Canara Bank moved upwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was up 2.9 per cent at 9,745.82. Praj Industries, Crompton Greave, HEG, Ingersoll Rand, Bharat Elec closed higher.

The Health Care Index was up 1.06 per cent at 3,725.57. Lupin, Wyeth, Sterling Bio, Ipca Labs, Nicholas Pirama closed higher.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 4,888.81 up 1.2 per cent. Tube Investment, Exide Industrie, Tata Motors, Mah and Mah, Bajaj Auto surged.

The Metal Index closed at 9,560.58 up 2.8 per cent. JSW Steel, Jindal Stainless, Sterlite Ind, Tata Steel, Hindalco advanced higher.

The BSE IT Index gained 1.6 per cent at 5,150.28. Hexaware Tech, I-Flex Solution, Wipro, HCL Info advanced.

Oil and Gas Index closed at 6,769.44 up 3.1 per cent. MRPL, Petronet LNG, Reliance, ONGC, IOC ended higher.

The BSE FMCG Index gained 2.6 per cent at 1,820.48. Tata Tea, ITC, Nirma, HLL, Shaw Wallace closed higher.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 8940.2 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 29442.91 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 4097.05 crore. Total market turnover was at Rs 42,480.16 crore, experts said.

World stock markets hit record peaks today after top policymakers highlighted the strength and improving balance of global economic growth, encouraging already bullish investors to increase their appetite for risk. The G7 leaders said the US economy remained solid despite the weight of a housing slump, while Europe was showing a healthy upswing and Japan's economic recovery was on track.

Stocks marked out fresh peaks amid confidence that the benign backdrop of solid global economic growth and moderate inflation will continue. MSCI's All-Country World Index rose 0.5 per cent to a life high of 387.55 points, a gain of almost 5 per cent so far this year, on top of almost 19 per cent last year. The FTSEurofirst 300 traded up around 0.7 per cent at 1,564.8 points, its highest level since December 2000.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.5 per cent as the weaker yen boosted exporters' shares. Other regional bourses also rose, with China, South Korea and Australia hitting record highs.

Tata Steel jumped 4.4 per cent to Rs 534, ahead of its board meeting tomorrow to consider the proposal for raising equity funds to finance its investment in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the acquisition of Corus Group.

FMCG giant Hindustan Lever (HLL) gained 3 per cent to Rs 213.70.

Buying was also conspicuous in cement shares, which are closely linked to rural demand. ACC gained 4.7 per cent to Rs 783.90, Grasim rose 3.8 per cent to Rs 2375 and Gujarat Ambuja Cements advanced 3.5 per cent to Rs 112.40.

Cement firms are seen reporting strong Q4 March 2006 results due to higher prices. ACC unveils Mar 2007 quarter results on April 19 followed by Gujarat Ambuja Cements on April 20.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 3.7 per cent to Rs 1464. The stock hit a high of Rs 1465, which is also a lifetime high for the counter. Credit rating agency ICRA jumped 20 per cent to Rs 957.10.

Oil exploration major ONGC surged 3.6 per cent to Rs 903.75.

IT shares extended last week's gains. Wipro gained 3.5 per cent to Rs 587.50, Infosys rose 1.9 per cent to Rs 2127 and i-flex solutions gained 4 per cent to Rs 2,336.

TCS rose 1.2 per cent to Rs 1279, ahead of its Q4 results due later today.

Cigarette major ITC rose 3.3 per cent to Rs 158.

Bharti Airtel gained 2.8 per cent to Rs 803, and Reliance Communications added 3.6 per cent to Rs 436.70.

Meanwhile, hardening of interest rates and strengthening of the Rupee is likely to moderate economic growth to 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal (2007-08) from 9.2 per cent in the last fiscal, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.

UNI