Shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 0.52 per cent on Monday to a record close, led by top private firm Reliance Industries Ltd and construction and engineering firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd.The 30-issue benchmark BSE index ended up 73.11 points at 14,129.64, with 20 components gaining, after hitting a lifetime peak of 14,202.12 in morning trade. The previous high of 14,070.88 was set on Friday.“There is some amount of warehousing being done with expectations that FII allocations for 2007 could be better,” said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Emkay Share and Stock Brokers Ltd.Foreign institutional investors (FII), who bought nearly $8 billion of stocks on 2006, have been net sellers to the tune of $240 million in early 2007.“Once the surprise element is out we’ll see the market settling down,” Gorakshakar said.The mood was positive in the broader markets with 1,741 gainers outpacing 903 losers on volume of 392 million shares. The 50-issue NSE index rose 0.64 per cent to 4,078.40 points.Top private firm Reliance Industries, which has the largest weighting in the main index, rose 1.8 per cent to Rs 1,364.65 ahead of its quarterly results on Thursday. The company is expected to post a 26 per cent rise in quarterly earnings, a Reuters poll showed.Larsen & Toubro gained 2.2 per cent to Rs 1,499.75. Both Reliance and L&T hit record highs.Top private steelmaker Tata Steel rose 3.9 per cent to 485.70 rupees. The company, which is in a takeover battle for Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus Group Plc, on Monday said it bought 100 per cent stake in a privately-held ferro alloy firm that has a plant in eastern India.Top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services, which is expected to post a 49 per cent rise in quarterly earnings later on Monday, gained 0.2 per cent to Rs 1,327.90.
