Sensex gains 215 points at 14,840.63

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex gained a high of 14,840.63 on Monday. It was highest closing since September 9, 2008. The total gain was 215 points. The Sensex opened gaining 120 points at 14,746 on strong global cues. In the day's trade, it touched a high of 14,906.81 and a low of 14,655.49. On the other hand, the National Stock Exchange's Nifty touched its 10-month high and finally ended 81 points higher at 4,530. The Small-cap was up 3.5% at 6,199 and the Mid-cap advanced nearly 3% to 5,207.

The BSE Realty and the Metal indices led the rally with over 5% gain each at 4,032 and 11,449, respectively. Major gainers were Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Jaiprakash Associates, NTPC, ACC and Housing Development Finance Corporation. On the other hand, Bharat Heavy Electricals, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Ranbaxy Laboratories, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries were the major losers in the Sensex. Overall market breadth was positive. Out of the total 2,870 stocks traded at BSE, 2,288 advanced, 544 declined while 38 remained unchanged.

Among the gainers there were: Tata Steel surged 8% at Rs 438 and Sterlite soared 7% to Rs 665. ACC, NTPC and Jaiprakash Associates advanced over 6% each to Rs 833, Rs 229 and Rs 220, respectively. Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC and ITC added 5% each to Rs 710, Rs 2,298 and Rs 193, respectively. Reliance Communications, Infosys, Wipro, Hindalco, Grasim, DLF and Reliance Infrastructures gained 2-5% each. While ICICI Bank and BHEL dipped 2% each to Rs 723 and Rs 2,125, respectively. Bharti Airtel and Ranbaxy declined 1.5% each to Rs 806 and Rs 275, respectively.