Fireworks on Street, Sensex soars 348 pts, all eyes on IIP

In a show of strength, the Sensex

today leapt more than 348 points -- its biggest one-day rise

in three months -- to close at 32,182, taking in its stride

increased prospects of an imminent US interest rate hike.

In percentage terms, the gains were above 1 per cent.

The rupee also extended gains for a fourth day by rising

0.09 per cent, or 6 paise, to close at one-week high of 65.08

per dollar.

The minutes from the US Federal Reserve's September

policy meeting pointed to a rate increase one additional time

this year despite subdued inflation, signalling "patience in

removing policy accommodation".

IIP and inflation data slated for the day heightened

investors' interest as they went on a buying binge at a time

of a rising trend overseas.

The NSE barometer Nifty too traded above the key 10,000-

mark before closing above that level.

Oil and gas, healthcare, FMCG and auto counters drove the

rally.

The 30-share Sensex after opening higher settled up

348.23 points, or 1.09 per cent, at 32,182.22. This is its

best single-day performance since July 10 when it soared

355.01 points.

Yesterday, the index had dropped 90 points for the first

time in four sessions as investors took profit.

Investor optimism took the 50-share NSE Nifty above the

key 10,000-mark to 10,096.40 at the close, up 111.60 points --

or 1.12 per cent -- its biggest one-day gain since May 25 when

it rallied 149.20 points.

Intra-day, it scaled a high and a low of 10,104.45 and

9,977.10, respectively.

With this rally, investors became richer by Rs 1.46 lakh

crore as market capitalisation of BSE listed firms stood at Rs

137.56 lakh crore.

"Market regained from yesterday's loss and stayed close

to 10,100 mark ahead of economic data -- inflation and IIP

later today. Good demand on consumer stocks on arrival of

festival season and ecstasy on pharma stocks amid positive

regulatory approvals fuelled the market. Investor's

expectation on some tailwinds in IT stocks ahead of results

kept the counter busy," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research,

Geojit Financial Services Ltd.

Sensex heavyweight Reliance Industries stole the show,

surging 3.82 per cent to end at Rs 872.50 ahead of the second

quarter earnings slated for Friday.

TCS gained 1.92 per cent to Rs 2,548.55 as investors

built up bets ahead of its earnings numbers.

A firm trend was seen in Asia while Europe also opened

higher, boosted by another record show on Wall Street.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) kept on offloading

shares worth net Rs 107.95 crore yesterday, showed provisional

data from exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs)

remained net buyers, picking up shares net Rs 233.08 crore.

The bounce in the Sensex was also supported by Sun Pharma

that gained 2.59 per cent to Rs 539.40 after the company said

it has received establishment inspection report (EIR) from the

US health regulator for its Dadra facility.

Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports and Hero

MotoCorp all went up.

Private lender IndusInd Bank ended 1.47 per cent higher

at Rs 1,742.60 after the company today posted 25 per cent

increase in net profit for the September quarter.

The BSE energy index was the biggest mover, rising

1.95 per cent followed by telecom, realty and FMCG.

The BSE small-cap added 1.15 per cent while mid-cap ended

0.98 per cent higher.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)