Sensex, Nifty touch fresh peaks yet again

The dream run of Dalal Street on Tuesday took benchmark indices — the Sensex and the NSE S&P CNX Nifty index — to their new all-ti...

The dream run of Dalal Street on Tuesday took benchmark indices — the Sensex and the NSE S&P CNX Nifty index — to their new all-time highs. The sustained inflow of foreign funds, weakening of the dollar abroad and hopes of strong quarterly results kept the market going.

Touching a new high of 6,461.64 in the intra-day trades, the BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 48.30 points at 6,451.30, its best close ever. The broader NSE S & P CNX Nifty index also touched a new high of 2,047.50 in the intra-day trades before settling at 2,044.65, up 17.80 points, or 0.88 per cent, over its previous close.

Brokers said the mood on the market appeared extremely bullish on the back of strong foreign fund inflows – which have crossed the record $ 8.19 billion this year so far – in the Indian equities and easing international oil prices.

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Automobile stocks, led by the Hero Honda Motors counter, were in the limelight, even as power, pharma, banking, cement and metal stocks gained ground. “Besides, expectations have started building up over the performance of the corporate sector for the quarter ending December 2004. There are hopes of strong corporate results, as indicated from the high advance tax payments made by the leading companies,” said a dealer.

A section of operators said the market has been showing signs of fatigue at every rise after recent gains. Besides, there have been concerns that foreign fund inflows may slow down towards the end of the year. The market is likely to move in a narrow range towards the New Year, they said.

The BSE Auto index gained 73.86 points, or 2.71 per cent, to end at 2,796.54. Hero Honda Motor closed at Rs 557.15, up 6.80 per cent over its previous close, but down 6.67 per cent from its day’s high.

The Tata group automobile major Tata Motors (up 1.95% to Rs 503.35) traded higher after the leading Indian automobiles major and MG Rover reiterated their commitment to City Rover in UK and the European markets. Other automobile stocks LML (up 7.24 per cent to Rs 43.70), Hind Motors (up 6.18 per cent to Rs 18.05), TVS Motor Co (up 3.71 per cent to Rs 85.15), M & M (up 2.60 per cent to Rs 539.30) and Ashok Leyland (up 2.23 per cent to Rs 22.90) also traded higher on buying interest.

Rupee shoots up against American dollar

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Mumbai: The rupee strengthened further against the US currency on strong exporter dollar sales amidst renewed dollar weakness overseas in generally quiet but cautious trade at the interbank foreign exchange market. The Indian unit was quoted at 43.80/82 per dollar, sharply higher from the overnight close of 43.9200/9350. The rupee opened on a distinctly firm note at 43.8250/8350 per dollar due to renewed weakness of the dollar against major global rivals.