MUMBAI, February 16: Pivotals firmed up further on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday due to speculative support coupled with fresh buying by the foreign funds. The Sensex gained 76 points. The new account started better and select scrips rallied as the session progressed mainly due to normal badla charges and backwardation in several scrips. The closing rates showed widespread and handsome gains. The volume of business remained moderate while the closing undertone appeared better.The BSE Sensitive Index improved sharply to the intra-day high of 3451.63 points before closing at 3449.77 points as compared to the previous level of 3373.53. The BSE-100 index rose by 33.92 points to 1483.15 from previous close of 1449.23.Brokers said the sentiment was boosted on speculative support following start of the new account and higher backwardation charges in seven key scrips. The uptrend was also due to participation by FIIs, who made purchases in key scrips like ITC, Hindustan Lever, and Telco.Thespeculation was also due to NSE closure today in view of elections in some parts of the country. Scrip of MNCs like Hindustan lever, Burroughs Welcome, Glaxo, Cadbury, Castrol, Nestle, Pond's, Smithkline Pharma and others closed with handsome gains. ITC remained on the top in terms of volume with a turnover of Rs 195.41 crore followed by Hindustan Lever (Rs 189.80 crore), Tata Tea (Rs 126.76 crore) Castrol (Rs 81.40 crore), and Reliance (Rs 55.49 crore).
