REVIEW

SENSEX UP 119 POINTS ON WEEKEND DAY

The benchmark Sensex advanced 119 points today to an almost three-week high, led by IT, healthcare and financial stocks, and notched up its second weekly gain after strong overseas markets boosted sentiment. TCS and Infosys, along with HDFC and ICICI Bank, lifted the index. Wipro and Cipla were among the 18 Sensex gainers. Ten of the 12 BSE sectoral indices moved up, led by IT, healthcare and FMCG stocks. The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex opened higher and moved in positive terrain through the day before settling at 21,193.58, up 118.99 points or 0.56 per cent. It was the highest close for the index since December 10, when it was at 21,255.26. The CNX Nifty on the National Stock Exchange rose 34.90 points, or 0.56 per cent, to end at 6,313.80. The SX40 on the MCX Stock Exchange was up 61.33 points at 12,594.59. A strong global performance on the back of a rally on Wall Street yesterday amid sustained capital inflows boosted market sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index logged all-time closing highs. Infosys touched a lifetime high as IT counters attracted heavy buying after US jobless data showed a fall last week, raising hopes of an economic revival. The US is the biggest market for Indian IT companies. TCS, India's No. 1 software exporter, was the biggest gainer on the Sensex, rising 2.98 per cent. Infosys and Wipro climbed 1.41 per cent and 1.89 per cent, respectively. "IT stocks were performing well post positive jobless data from US, which is also indicator of improved health of economy in US, which will be beneficial for the sector," said Rakesh Goyal, Senior Vice President at Bonanza Portfolio Ltd. A strong recovery in the rupee also helped. The rupee traded at 61.87 in late afternoon deals against yesterday's close of 62.16. The Sensex has advanced more than 9 per cent this year, poised for its second annual gain, as overseas investors pumped in almost USD 20 billion in the stock markets. Foreign institutional investors bought a net Rs 743.70 crore of shares yesterday, according to provisional data on the stock exchanges.