Sensex ends up 217 points

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 57.65 points,or 1.06 per cent,to 5,520.80 with Tech,IT,metal and banking stocks gaining the most.

Brokers said investor confidence regained 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 the fears of further rise in inflation were also capped as crude oil prices declined in international markets.

Crude oil fell for the first time in three days after reports that Libya8217;s Muammar Qaddafi offered to relinquish power,prompting speculation fighting may ease in Africa8217;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 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 rose by Rs 8.25 to Rs 984.40 and second heaviest Infosys Technologies 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.

The Teck index gained the most by rising 1.98 per cent to 3,675.77 followed by IT index by 1.90 per cent to 6,285.03. Metal index rose by 1.49 per cent to 15,833.04,banking index by 1.48 per cent to 12,427.24 and realty index by 1.35 per cent to 2,070.48.

As the buying activity spilled over a broader front,midcap index rose by 0.97 per cent to 6,562.05 and smallcap index by 0.76 per cent to 7,944.85.

STOCKS THAT MOVED

Real estate developers DLF,Unitech and Housing Development amp; Infrastructure gained between 1.9 percent and 2.3 percent,after BNP Paribas raised its ratings on the stocks.

Tata Coffee,which sells branded coffee,gained up 19.1 percent at Rs 671.90 as coffee prices jumped,dealers said. Arabica coffee futures soared to a 34-year high on investment fund buying as tight supplies and a paucity of producer sales ignited the market8217;s most powerful rally since the end of January.

Airline companies and state-run oil marketing companies gained as crude oil prices cooled slightly. Jet Airways,SpiceJet and Kingfisher gained between 3.8 per cent and 2.9 per cent.

Indian Oil Corp,Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum rose 0.8 per cent and 1.6 per cent.

However,explorer Cairn India dropped 1.7 per cent to Rs 353.

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME ON BSE8217;

IFCI on 6 million shares

SpiceJet on 1.9 million shares

Mahindra Satyam on 4.8 million shares