Sensex crosses the psychological level of 14,000

Mumbai, May 3: The Sensex today breached the psychological barrier of 14,000 to settle in the green on the Bombay Stock Exchange, registering an impressive gain of 205.84 points at 14,078.21 as buying continued for index pivotals following a robust set of results from India Inc and firm global markets.

After opening higher at 13,987.77, it touched an intra-day high of 14,107.06 and a low of 13,987.77.

Among the broader markets, the 50-stock Nifty Index also settled in positive territory, gaining a handsome 62.95 points at 4,150.85 from its previous close of 4,087.90 points.

Opening higher at 4,089.45, it touched a high of 4,161.20 and a low of 4,080.75 points during intra-day trade.

Market analysts pointed out that the outcome of the ongoing seven-phased Uttar Pradesh assembly elections is a key political event to watch out for. The outcome is seen as a barometer of national political trends.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 5,866.25 up 71 points or 1.22 per cent, while the Smallcap Index ended at 7,054.20 up 60 points or 0.9 per cent. Bankex was up 0.7 per cent at 6,934.12. Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank, PNB moved upwards. The Capital Goods Index was up 1.9 per cent at 10,063.23. Alstom Projects, Greaves Cotton, Dredging Cor, Larsen, BHEL closed higher.

The Health Care Index was up 1.1 per cent at 3,745.03. Ranbaxy Labs, Lupin, Orchid Chemical, Cadila Health, GlaxoSmithKline closed higher. The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,070.95 up 1.5 per cent. Hind Motors, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, Bharat Forge, Ashok Leyland, MRF, Cummins surged.

The Metal Index closed at 10,015.40 up 1.8 per cent. Hind Zinc, JSW Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel closed higher. The information technology (IT) Index closed at 5,124.21 up 1.4 per cent. Mphasis, Moser Baer, HCL Tech, TCS advanced, while the Oil and Gas Index closed at 7,337.78 up 2.8 per cent. Chennai Petro, Reliance, BPCL, HPCL, Reliance Natura ended higher.

The BSE fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) Index gained 0.6 per cent at 1,811.09. Nestle, Britannia, Colgate, Shaw Wallace, ITC closed higher.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 9,317.04 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 27,675.18 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 4,417.65 crore. The total market-wide turnover was at Rs 41,409.87 crore, analysts said.

The Hang Seng Index was up 1.39 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.69 per cent. US stocks rallied yesterday, as the Dow Jones industrial average was up 75.74 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 13,211.88. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index was up 9.62 points, or 0.65 per cent at 1,495.92.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 26.31 points, or 1.04 per cent at 2,557.84.

Oil prices clawed back today, after US government data showed a build up in crude. US crude rose 4 cents to USD 63.72, after a 72-cent drop a day earlier. London Brent crude gained 18 cents to USD 66.43 a barrel in the Asian session, after dropping 75 cents yesterday.

At the premier BSE, Auto major Bajaj Auto (BAL) jumped 4.70 per cent to Rs 2559.90, and was the top-gainer. Hero Honda gained 2.69 per cent to Rs 702, as bike sales improved in April.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements (up 3.82 per cent to Rs 122.45), and Ranbaxy laboratories (up 3.41 per cent to Rs 384) were the other gainers.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 3.97 per cent to Rs 1622.10, as 8.62 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE.

Maruti Udyog (MUL) rose nearly 1.52 per cent to Rs 815.30, after reporting 17 per cent growth in car sales in April as it sold 48,652 vehicles compared to 41,574 vehicles sold in the same period last year. Over all, the company sold 50,352 vehicles in domestic and international markets in April, compared to 43,127 in April 2006.

HDFC Bank lost 2.35 per cent to Rs 1002, and was the top-loser.

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Lever (HLL) declined 1.71 per cent to Rs 196, on a volume of 10.80 lakh shares while telecom services provider, Reliance Communications slipped by 1.38 per cent to Rs 470.50 on a volume of 23.51 lakh shares.

Tata Motors slipped 2.26 per cent to Rs 733.50.

UNI