Speculation fuels BSE

MUMBAI, December 22: The BSE Sensex on Monday gained 75 points on fresh speculative support coupled with brisk buying by FIIs. The new account started on a better note, and scrips led by ITC, Castrol, Tata Tea and others moved up as the session progressed. The closing rates showed widespread to handsome gains. While the volume of business remained moderate, the closing undertone appeared cheerful.

During the morning trades, the Sensitive Index started better at 3553.68 points, crossed the 3600-mark and touched the intra-day high of 3629.42. It closed at 3616.34 points with a handsome gain of 75.43 points as compared to the previous level of 3540.91. The BSE-100 Index also shot up by 32.06 points to 1568.20 from previous close of 1536.14. ITC showed brisk activity and recorded highest turnover of Rs 292.93 crore of the total volume of business of Rs 831.66 crore. It was followed by Tata Tea at Rs 91.07 crore, SBI at Rs 70.07 crore and Reliance at Rs 63.35 crore.

On the NSE share prices flared up following sustained speculative buying coupled with good purchases by foreign funds. The NSE-50 index started better at 1028.45 and rallied further to 1053.40, before closing at 1051.40, showing a sharp rise of 23.00 over the last close. The Defty also commenced higher at 909.80 and after touching a high level of 932.05, finished at 930.35, showing a smart gain of 21.20 over the previous close of 909.15. The Midcap index, after a strong start at 1145.50, rose further steeply and closed at 1160.75, disclosing a gain of 16.60 over the last close. The market witnessed a total turnover of Rs 1475.75 crore.