BSE Sensex surges by 377.31 points

Mumbai, Aug 8: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex surged by 377.31 points till noon today to touch 15,310.08 from it's previous close of 14,932, after opening firm at 15,088.07 as buying momentum for index pivotals heightened as the day progressed.

''Banking scrips gained on follow-up buying in hopes that interest rates may remain steady. Cement shares also chipped in with modest gains. Strong Asian and US markets also boosted sentiments,'' market analysts said.

The broader National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty also advanced by 110.20 points to reach 4,466.55 from it's previous close of 4,356.35 after opening firmer at 4,357.00.

Analysts said that the market breadth was strong on the BSE as 2,049 shares advanced as compared to 581 that declined, while 57 remained unchanged so far.

The BSE Mid-Cap index is up 1.50 per cent to 6,672.09 while the BSE Small-cap index rose 1.82 per cent to 8,050.43. The BSE Bankex rose 2.03 per cent to 8,089.90. The total turnover here till now amounted to Rs 2,769 crore. Among the Sensex pack, 29 advanced while Cipla was the lone loser, BSE data showed.

''Frontline information technology (IT) stocks held on to early gains as rupee weakened after the government yesterday tightened external commercial borrowing (ECB) norms. 4 out of top 5 gainers from the Sensex pack were IT pivotals,'' market participants said.

The rupee weakened today on concerns that capital inflows from abroad will slow down after the government imposed curbs on overseas borrowings by Indian companies. In early trade the rupee was hovering at 40.51 versus the US dollar, weaker than yesterday's close of 40.41/42.

The early gainers included SBI, ICICI Bank, Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers, Wipro, TCS, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Hindalco Industries, while the only laggard was Cipla.

Asian stock markets rose today after the US Federal Reserve gave a positive outlook for the US economy, Asia's top export market, helped soothe concerns about a global credit squeeze. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted, Japan's Nikkei, China's Shanghai Composite, Singapore's Straits Times and South Korea's Seoul Composite edged higher.

US stocks rose yesterday following the Fed's outlook on the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 35.52 points, or 0.26 per cent, to end at 13,504.30. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index gained 9.04 points, or 0.62 per cent, to finish at 1,476.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 14.27 points, or 0.56 per cent, to close at 2,561.60.

The Fed yesterday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in a widely expected move and said while tightening credit conditions had increased downside risks to the US economy, inflation was still its main concern.

UNI