Sensex surges by 103.45 points

Mumbai, Sep 3: Continuing its upward march, The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex today surged ahead by 103.45 points to settle higher at 15,422.05, buoyed by stronger than expected economic growth data, taming inflation and a rally in US stocks.

''The market was steady throughout the day on continued buying interest for index pivotals. It opened above the 15,400 level at 15,401.99 following the rally in US stocks in its last trading session, after Federal Reserve's chairman Ben Bernanke and US president George Bush assured that they would not let the economy collapse. Besides, official data showing higher than expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 9.3 per cent and easing inflation which slipped below the 4 per cent level at 3.94 per cent, boosted sentiments further. Besides, Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are also in a buying mood now,'' market analysts surmised.

Among the broader markets, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty also settled in the green.

BSE data showed that the market breadth was strong, with 1,971 shares advancing as compared to 760 that declined, while 53 remained unchanged. The total turnover here amounted to Rs 4,715 crore. From the 30-scrip Sensex pack, 22 rose while the rest declined.

NTPC, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla, SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, BHEL and Maruti-Suzuki were the day's leaders, while Reliance Industries (RIL), ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Wipro and Bajaj Auto were the prominent laggards.

In its last trading session, US stocks rallied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 119 points to 13,358 and the broader S&P 500 gained 16 points to settle at 1,474 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed up 31 points to close at 2,596.

India's largest power generation company NTPC galloped 6.49 per cent to Rs 184.55 on 24.59 lakh shares. It hit an all time high of Rs 187.90, which is a record high for the counter. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack. Analysts say that the government plans to divest 4.75 per cent of its stake in NTPC through a public offer that could fetch it nearly Rs 6,000 crore.

Domestic pharma companies advanced on renewed buying. India's second largest drug maker by sales, Dr Reddy's Laboratories advanced 3.80 per cent to Rs 665 on reports that it has made a non-binding bid to acquire US-based Bradley, which has a strong presence in the dermatology segment.

Banking pivotals gained on fresh buying. SBI, the country's largest bank by net profit, rose 0.16 per cent to Rs 1,602, off its day's high of Rs 1621.90. Sector observers say the government may give in-principle approval to the intermediate holding company proposed by SBI. It plans to transfer its investments in its insurance and mutual funds businesses to a subsidiary within the next two to three months. The subsidiary in turn will act as a holding company for SBI's insurance and mutual fund businesses. It may also be listed in 2008-09.

India's largest company by market capitalisation Reliance Industries (RIL) slipped from an all time high of Rs 1,981, to settle lower by 0.57 per cent to Rs 1,948.25 on 6.45 lakh shares.

The top oil explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) lost 1.93 per cent to Rs 841 on 99,939 shares. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack.

India's second largest bike maker Bajaj Auto lost 0.90 per cent to Rs 2,324. Its vehicle sales last month fell by 6 per cent to 1,95,707 units from 2,08,163 units a year earlier. It said sales of motorcycles declined 7 per cent to 1,67,483 units from 1,80,570 and sales of all two-wheelers slipped 6 per cent to 1,70,203 units from 1,82,013 units a year earlier.

European markets were trading mixed today. Key benchmark indices in London are up 0.38 per cent to 6,327.40 and in Germany up 0.35 per cent to 7,664.62. However France's CAC 40 index declined 0.12 per cent to 5,655.96 .

Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei tanked 0.27 per cent at 16,524.93, Taiwan Weighted sank 0.02 per cent at 8,979.96, Singapore's Straits Times slipped 0.20 per cent at 3,386.22, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.33 per cent at 23,904.09. However, China's Shanghai Composite surged 1.96 per cent to 5,321.05, and South Korea's Seoul Composite rose 0.46 per cent at 1,881.81.

Crude oil was little changed near a four-week high in New York today, on signs that a hurricane approaching the Gulf of Mexico will miss US oil facilities. Crude oil for October delivery was at USD 74.05, up 1 cent, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

UNI