BSE Sensex settles at 14,338.45

Mumbai, May 25: The 30-scrip Sensex soared by 120 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to end at 14,338.45 points, buoyed by highly encouraging annual rate of inflation that continued to follow its downward trend to stand at 5.22 per cent for the week ended May 12.

Market analysts pointed out that inflation has subsided due to a drop in textiles and food product prices.

The Sensex had hit an intra-day high of 14364.95 and a low of 14046.06, after opening on a weak note at 14,073.61.

The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) broader 50-stock Nifty Index also gained 43 points to close at 4,248 from its previous close of 4,204.90, touching an intra-day high of 4256.40 and a low of 4141.35.

''The market saw a complete trend reversal witnessed in early trade marked by weakness and settled with gains,'' traders disclosed adding that interestingly, all the European markets and majority of the Asian markets were trading weak. The Hang Seng index lost 1.34 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 index was down 1.22 per cent.

The market breadth saw a sharp trend reversal at the BSE. Though it was weak in the morning session, it turned positive in the post-lunch session as buying emerged. 1,426 shares advanced and 1,169 declined, while 83 remained unchanged. Among the Sensex pack, 22 advanced, while 8 declined, experts observed.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 9,813.65 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 42,530.32 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 5,023.46 crore. The total market wide turnover was at Rs 57,367.43 crore.

The prominent gainers included information technology (IT) majors Satyam Computers, MphasiS, I-flex, NIIT Technologies, CMC, Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC, Reliance Communications L&T and ITC On the other hand, the main losers were Bajaj Auto, HDFC bank and Tata Steel.

Meanwhile, Wall Street retreated yesterday after housing data showed sales surge last month by the largest amount in 14 years and damped hopes that an interest rate cut would be needed to stimulate the economy, experts explained.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 84.52 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 13,441.13. The shift in the direction of the Dow and the other major indexes yesterday was pronounced. The Dow rose nearly 100 points to 13,624.55 early in the session, eclipsing its previous trading high of 13,609.75.

Broader stock indices also declined. The Standard&Poor's 500 index lost 14.77 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 1,507.51, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 39.13 points, or 1.52 per cent, to 2,537.92.

Crude for July delivery jumped as much as 35 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to USD 64.53 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at USD 64.38 at 1030 hrs in Singapore.

Brent for July delivery was at USD 70.67 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange, after rising 0.2 per cent to USD 70.72 yesterday, its highest close since August 28, 2006.

UNI