(RTTNews) - Friday, the Indian market closed sharply higher for the day on hopes of tax sops and sector- specific stimulus in the forthcoming interim budget on Monday, although profit booking in late trading cut some of its early gains. A recovery on Wall Street overnight and firm global cues from the Asian and the European markets on Friday also helped the market end on a positive note.

Markets across the Asia-Pacific region rallied on optimism that a U.S. plan, which is reportedly being contemplated, to aid homeowners by subsidizing mortgage payments would provide a concrete form of financial policy to tackle the global slowdown.

Back home, the BSE Sensex opened at 9,541 and rose to the day’s high of 9,696 before paring some of its gains to finish at 9,635, up 169 points or 1.78% over the previous close. Meanwhile, the S&P CNX Nifty closed at 2,948, up 55 points or 1.91%.

On the BSE, the market breadth was fairly positive, with advancers outnumbering decliners by 1484 to 947. The mid-cap index rose 1.51% and the broad-based BSE 500 index rallied 1.66%, while the small-cap index showed modest gains compared to the broader market, rising 0.62%.

Among the top gainers, Mahindra & Maahindra surged up 7.04%, Reliance Communication soared 5.33%, ACC jumped 5.13%, Tata Steel climbed 4.69% and BHEL added 3.86%.

Reliance Infrastructure, Jaiprakash Associates, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, DLF, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki and Sterlite were the other prominent gainers.

However, Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Infosys ended in the red.

United Spirits topped the traded value with a turnover of Rs.207.35 crore followed by Educomp Solutions (Rs.197.40 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs.138 crore), Reliance Infrastructure (Rs.136.40 crore) and Spice Telecom (Rs.112.15 crore).

Spice Telecom topped the traded volume with trades of around 1.27 crore shares followed by Hexaware (1.27 crore), Wire & Wireless (1.25 crore), Dish TV (1.20 crore) and Unitech (1.18 crore).

Cement, steel and realty stocks gained on hopes of a stimulus for the housing sector in the interim budget.

Banking stocks advanced on likely rate cuts after the Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday that it is closely monitoring the developments in the global and domestic financial markets and would take swift and effective action. According to reports, the RBI is likely to take a decision after the interim general budget.

After climbing in the past two sessions, fertilizer stocks tumbled on profit taking.

Stocks of companies catering to Railway infrastructure, namely Titagarh Wagons, Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineers, Bharat Earth Movers, Container Corporation of India and Kenex Microsystems closed in negative territory after rising sharply before the announcement of Railway budget.

However, Wagon manufacturer Texmaco jumped 11.05% and logistics firm Stone India added 4.88% after the Railway Minister announced higher investment plans in the interim budget.

Among auto stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra jumped 7.04%, Maruti Suzuki added 2.62%, Hero Honda gained 1.72% and Tata Motors rose 1.32% on hopes that the government would announce excise cuts in the interim budget.

Tata Steel advanced 4.69% after the company’s managing director B Muthuraman forecast a 10-15% month-over-month rise in sales in February on account of strong growth in the construction sector.

Era Infra Engineering ended up 0.89% on bagging a new order worth Rs.67.56 crore from BHEL for construction of civil and architectural work in Karnataka.

Reliance Industries advanced 2.90% on reports that it has begun gasoline trading operations in the United States. Reliance Infrastructure rose 3.51% to Rs.569.30 after the company announced a fresh buyback program at a price not exceeding Rs.700 per share.

United Spirits rallied 3.47% on reports that it is ready to offer a more than 15% stake and board representation to Diageo Plc. Varun Shipping moved up 3.64% following a block deal on the National Stock Exchange.

Kingfisher Airlines fell 2.12% on reports that it has received a letter from the Director General of Civil Aviation seeking details on the fare hikes announced by the company earlier this week.

JetAirways and SpiceJet also fell notably amid reports that the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission has ordered an investigation probe into the sudden airfare rise by all airlines on February 9.

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Posted in Categories: Eurozone, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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