Sensex surges by 133.08 points today

Mumbai, May 31: The Sensex surged by 133.08 points today on the Bombay Stock Exchange to settle at 14,544.46 on revalation of an upbeat growth data, short-covering in derivatives ahead of expiry of May 2007 derivatives contracts and firm global indices.

It had earlier opened higher at 14,451.31 and reached an intra-day high of 14,573.81 and a low of 14,448.57.

Among the broader markets, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Index also surged by 46.15 points, to settle at 4,250.25 from its previous close of 4,249.65 points.

It had scaled an all-time high of 4,306.75 and a low of 4,250.25 during intra-day after opening marginally higher at 4,250.25.

''Volatility was the hallmark of the day, which was but obvious as the May 2007 contracts were to expire today. The market held firm right from the opening bell as the market-wide rollover of 63 per cent and Nifty rollover of 59 per cent by yesterday meant that most of the rollover had already happened,'' market analysts observed adding that the Sensetive Index is just about 175 points away from its all time high of 14,723.88 struck on February 9, this year.

Official data today revealed that India's economy grew by 9.1 per cent in January-March 2007 quarter, from a year earlier, led by robust manufacturing and growth in the services sector. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was 9.4 per cent in fiscal-year ended March 2007, which is higher than government estimate of 9.2 per cent, and the fastest growth in 18 years. Farm sector output in the January-March 2007 quarter grew an annual 3.8 per cent, manufacturing rose 12.4 per cent and construction 11.2 per cent.

Trade, hotels, transport and communications segment recorded a strong 12.4 per cent growth, Government authorities disclosed.

Experts said the market breadth was strong on BSE, with 1,380 shares advancing as compared to 1,198 that declined, while 93 remained unchanged. It was, however, much stronger in the morning session, when 1,196 shares had advanced as compared to 381 that had declined, they pointed out adding that the total turnover here was up to Rs 4,430 crore. Among the Sensex pack, 21 advanced while the rest slipped.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers to the tune of approximately Rs 598.51 crore yesterday when the Sensex had lost 97 points due to weakness in Asian and European markets.

Domestic institutions were net buyers to the tune of Rs 562 crore on that day, traders said.

The prominent gainers today included Larsen&Toubro, Hero Honda, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC, index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL), Satyam Computers, Infosys and Wipro.

The main losers today were NTPC, Dr Reddy's, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and TCS.

The Indian Rupee today climbed after falling by nearly 1 per cent in the previous session, as firm Asian stock markets bolstered expectations of a fresh wave of capital inflows into local equities.

Asian&European markets were trading strong. Japana's Nikkei 225 average surged 287.49 points or 1.63 per cent at 17,875.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced by 340.71 points or 1.68 per cent at 20,634.47. Shanghai Composite gained 56.56 points or 1.40 per cent to 4,109.65.

US stocks rose yesterday with the Standard&Poor's 500 indexing striking to its first record close in more than seven years, as investors grew more confident that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates in the second half of this financial year. The Dow Jones industrials also reached a new closing high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 111.74 points or 0.83 per cent to 13,633.08, and also reached a new all time high of high of 13,636.09. The S&P 500, surpassed the record of 1, 527.46, set on March 24, 2000, at the peak of the dot-com boom, closing at 1,530.23, up 12.12 points, or 0.80 per cent. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 20.53 points, or 0.80 per cent, at 2,592.59.

Oil prices fell today ahead of the release of a US government report which expected to show that US crude and gasoline supplies rose last week. Light, sweet crude for July 2007 delivery dropped 13 cents to USD 63.36 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-morning in Singapore. The contract on Wednesday, May 30 2007, rose 34 cents to settle at USD 63.49 a barrel.

July Brent crude lost 4 cents to USD 67.80 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London, after tumbling 50 cents overnight to settle at USD 67.84 a barrel, dealers added.

UNI