Bulls staged a comeback on Wednesday as bargain hunting in the recently clobbered stocks lifted the market by 2.42 per cent in volatile trades. After moving in a range of 200 points, the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex) ended with a massive gain of 135.78 points, or 2.42 per cent, to end at 5,756.76. Prior to this recovery, the Sensex had lost 375 points in the previous four trading sessions. The NSE S&P CNX Nifty Index also jumped 53.20 points to end at 1,822.20. “The interim Budget proposals failed to cheer the markets yesterday,” said stock dealer Pawan Dharnidharka. “The market appeared to have second thoughts on the interim Budget, which did not impress investors when presented on Tuesday. The Budget presented on Tuesday has modest sops for industry, common man and the capital markets in an attempt to maintain balance between fiscal responsibility and mild populism ahead of expected general elections,” said an analyst. The mood on the market appeared somewhat optimistic on bargain hunting in heavily battered stocks. Tax sops to shipping and power and the quarterly performance of the corporate sector have encouraged investors to make fresh purchases at the lower levels. Zee Telefilms (up 16.05%) more than regained its Tuesday’s loss on renewed buying interest. Tata Steel (up 7.78%) firmed up amid market talks that steel makers are expected to hike prices across all product categories by Rs 2,000 per tonne. Tata Power (up 6.54%) and Reliance Energy (up 5.82%) firmed up on renewed buying interest after the FM announced that all new power projects will receive corporate tax exemption till 2012.
