Sensex closes 61 points up

Trading remained firm on continued buying by funds and retail investors on hopes that the government will soon announce more economic reforms,market experts said.

European indices that were up one per cent each on reports of positive economic data,also aided the domestic sentiment.

Brokers said investors adopted a selective approach after the 30-share barometer gained 7.7 per cent in September a month where the government hiked diesel price,allowed foreign direct investment in retail and aviation,among others.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty today gained 15.50 points,or 0.27 per cent,to 5,718.80.

Infosys rose by 2.96 per cent,after recording heavy losses in the last few sessions. TCS also rose 0.66 per cent. The rupee was trading at 52.5 level a dollar.

Select auto stocks also notched up smart rise after posting better-than-expected September sales. Tata Motors gained 2.65 per cent,TVS Motors went up by 4.26 per cent and Maruti Suzuki inched up 0.53 per cent.

ITC,which rose 0.6 per cent,also helped Sensex rise.

Profit-booking was seen in some private banks after strong rally witnessed in last two weeks,said Nidhi Sarswat,Senior Research Analyst,Bonanza Portfolio. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell in 0.7-0.9 per cent range but SBI gained 1.4 per cent.

Infrastructure-related stocks,mostly outside Sensex,including IVRCL,NCC,Jaiprakash Asso and Reliance Infra advanced as end of Monsoon season is likely to revive construction activity,said analysts.

Retail buying in midcap and smallcap shares helped the individual BSE indices outperform the Sensex.

The Bombay Stock Exchange BSE and the National Stock Exchange NSE will remain closed tomorrow,October 2,for observing 8220;Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti8221;.

In Asia,China,Hong Kong and South Korea markets were closed today while indices from Japan,Singapore and Taiwan ended lower today on reports that China8217;s manufacturing shrank for second month amid a global slowdown.

European stocks,however,were trading higher in their afternoon deals. The CAC France was up 1.43 per cent,the DAX Germany by 1.25 per cent and the FTSE UK by 1 percent.

Meanwhile,India8217;s manufacturing sector 8220;held steady8221; in the month of September supported by faster output growth and rising export orders,an HSBC survey said. HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers8217; Index PMI 8211; a measure of factory production 8212; stood at 52.8 in September,same as in August.

Out of the 30-share Sensex pack,16 stocks finished with gains while 14 stocks ended with losses. Besides Infosys,other major gainers were Tata Motors 2.65 pc,Jindal Steel 1.93 pc,BHEL 1.86 pc,Hindalco 1.83 pc,SBI 1.40 pc,NTPC 1.22 pc and Sterlite Ind 1.21 pc.

Among losers,Bajaj Auto dropped by 1.11 per cent,followed by Tata Power 0.94 per cent,HDFC Bank 0.87 pc and ONGC 0.84 pc.

11 out of 13 sectoral indices closed in the green with IT,Teck,CG and Auto segments taking the lead while Oilamp;Gas and Bankex closed lower. The BSE-IT shot up by 1.88 per cent,followed by the BSE-Teck 1.91 pc,the BSE-CG 0.67 pc,the BSE-Auto 0.65 pc and the BSE-Power 0.56 pc.

The total market breadth at BSE remained positive as 1,805 counters ended with gains while 1,102 that finished with losses. The total turnover dropped further to Rs 2,145.33 crore from the last Friday8217;s level of Rs 2,685.87 crore.

Foreign Institutional Investors FIIs pumped in Rs 1,230.35 crore last Friday as per provisional data with stock exchanges.