Sensex registers modest gain of 59.44 points

Mumbai, May 28: After staying above the 14,500 mark for most part of the day on encouraging global cues, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-scrip Sensex declined on heavy profit booking to settle at 14,397.89, registering a modest gain of 59.44 points.

The Sensex had opened much stronger at 14,467 and even touched a high of 14, 527.47 and a low of 14,368.40 during intra-day.

On the other hand, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Index settled with a marginal gain of 8.40 points at 4,256.55 from its previous close of 4,248.15 points. During intra-day it had touched a high of 4, 295.60 and a low of 4,242.80 points.

Market analysts observed that the market breadth was strong on the BSE with under 1.50 gainers for every loser. 1,470 shares advanced and 1,094 declined, while 97 remained unchanged. The total turnover here was Rs 4,148 crore. Among the Sensex pack, 19 advanced while the rest declined. However, In early trade, all the Sensex constituents had advanced, they pointed out.

The major gainers for the day included HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Housing finance major HDFC and Ranbaxy Laboratories.

The prominent losers were index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) Infosys Technologies, Wipro, TCS and Satyam Computers.

Meanwhile, Asian and European markets were trading mixed. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.61 per cent or 106.38 points at 17,587.59 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.04 per cent or 9.10 points at 20, 529.76.

US stocks rose last week. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 66.15 points, or 0.49 per cent, to end at 13,507.28.

The Standard&Poor's 500 Index rose 8.22 points, or 0.55 per cent, to finish at 1,515.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 19.27 points, or 0.76 per cent, to close at 2,557.19 . All US financial markets were closed today, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

In Asia, key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were up by between 0.09 per cent to 0.75 per cent. China's main index was up by 2.1 per cent.

Crude oil fell in New York on speculation that US fuel prices may ease as refiners increase output to meet summer demand. Crude oil for July delivery fell as much as 47 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to USD 64.73 a barrel, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange today.

Brent crude oil for July settlement was at USD 70.35 a barrel, down 34 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.

UNI