Sensex up by 169.70 points at 13,965 mark

Mumbai, May 14: The Sensex today surged by 169.70 points on theBombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to settle in the green at 13,965.86 onprospects of political stability in Uttar Pradesh and prediction of anearly monsoon.

After opening firmer at 13,954.41, it had crossed thepsychological barrier of 14,000 to reach the day's high of 14,026.02and a low of 13,924.02 during intra-day trade.

Among the broader markets, the Nifty Index also gained 57.65points on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and closed in positiveterrain at 4,134.30 from its previous close of 4,076.65 points.

After opening marginally higher at 4,078.80, it had touched a high of 4,151.30 and a low of 4,072.45 during intra-day.

The Indian meteorological department today forecast that annual monsoon rains would arrive in Kerala on May 24.

The Indian Rupee rose to 40.92 per US dollar today, up 0.7 percent from last week's close, as investors shrugged off worries aboutpossible central bank intervention to cap currency gains.

Besides, the centre's customs and excise duty receipts for lastmonth were up 19.1 per cent at Rs 13,862 crore, the finance ministrysaid today. Customs collections were up 27.4 per cent at Rs 7,221crore, while excise collections grew 11.3 per cent to Rs 6,640 crore inApril, this year.

State Bank of India (SBI) surged and a host of other public sector unit(PSU) banks rallied, boosted by SBI's strong Q4 showing. FMCG giantHindustan Lever and cement pivotals surged on reports of a favourablemonsoon. Tata Steel extended gains on expectations of strong fourthquaterly (Q4) results, market analysts observed.

But two-wheeler makers dropped, hit by Hero Honda's dismal Q4 results whereas Rupee's rise weighed on IT shares.

The market breadth at the BSE remained strong as select sidecounters surged. 1,639 shares rose, while 928 declined and 85 stocksremained unchanged. Therefore, gainers outpaced losers by a ratio of1.76:1, experts explained and added that the total turnover was Rs4,117 crore.

State Bank of India (SBI) jumped 5 per cent to Rs 1,205.80. OnSaturday they had reported a 75 per cent growth in net profit to Rs1,493.19 crore in Q4 March 2007, from Rs 853.29 crore in Q4 March 2006.Net interest income rose 22 per cent to Rs 4320 crore. SBI's net profitwas up 3 per cent to Rs 4,541.31 crore in the year ending March 2007.

Tata Steel surged 4 per cent to Rs 593. The stock has gained onrenewed buying at lower level on expectation of strong Q4 March 2007results. Tata Steel unveils Q4 results on Thursday. Analysts expectstrong Q4 results from the steel major on the back of higher steelprices. Last month, Tata Steel had announced an attractively pricedrights issue at Rs 300 each in 1:5 ratio.

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant Hindustan Lever jumped 4per cent to Rs 192.95 boosted by reports that the south-west monsoon isexpected to hit the Kerala coast around 24 May 2007, one week earlierthan the scheduled date of June 1 this year. FMCGs derives substantialrevenue from rural sector.

Cement shares also got a boost from favourable reports of monsoon.Gujarat Ambuja Cements gained 4 per cent to Rs 124.05, Grasim rose 2.5per cent to Rs 2490 and ACC advanced 1.7 per cent to Rs 865. Cementfirms derive a large portion of their revenue from rural housing.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 1.7 per cent to Rs 1618. On BSE, 8.8 lakh shares changed hands in the stock.

Drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories lost 4.4 per cent to Rs 653after a US court last week upheld a patent protecting Eisai company'sAciphex ulcer drug.

UNI