The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today recovered by 217 points on buying by funds in fundamentally strong stocks amid easing political worries and falling crude oil prices.
The 30-share index closed higher by 216.98 points or 1.19 per cent at 18,439.65 points. It had lost 267 points in the last two trading sessions.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 57.65 points or 1.06 per cent to 5,520.80 with Tech, IT, metal and banking stocks gaining the most.
Brokers said investors regained confidence following reports that DMK leaders are making efforts to find a way out of the crisis over seat-sharing issue with the Congress in Tamil Nadu.
They said fears of further rise in inflation were also capped as crude oil prices declined in the international markets.
Crude oil fell for the first time in three days after reports that Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi offered to relinquish power, prompting speculation fighting may ease in Africa’s third-biggest producer.
A firming trend in the Asian region and higher opening in Europe further fuelled the uptrend and advised investors to pick fundamentally strong stocks available at cheaper levels.
In the 30-BSE index kitty stocks, 25 closed higher while Hindustan Unilever remained unchanged. All the sectoral indices were also in positive mode.
The most-heaviest on the index, Reliance Industries was up by Rs 8.25 to Rs 984.40, and the second-heaviest Infosys Technologies up by Rs 76.95 to Rs 3,114.65. The two carry nearly 23 per cent weightage on the Sensex.
Other major supporters were Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services.
The Teck index gained the most by rising 1.98 per cent to 3,675.77 followed by the IT index by 1.9 per cent to 6,285.03. Metal index rose 1.49 per cent to 15,833.04, banking index 1.48 per cent to 12,427.24 and realty index 1.35 per cent to 2,070.48.
As the buying activity spilled over a broader front, midcap index rose 0.97 per cent to 6,562.05 and small cap index 0.76 per cent to 7,944.85.