The benchmark Sensex today surged by 272 points to a six-week high of 16,949.83 points on strong hopes that central banks worldwide,including RBI,are likely take concerted steps to contain damages in case Greece exits Eurozone. Interest rate sensitive auto,banking and realty stocks drove the key index up by 271.95 points or 1.63 per cent to log the second straight week of gains. The market received further support on firming trend in the Asian region and higher opening in European indices that tracked a 1.2 per cent rise in American stocks yesterday. "Markets ended the day surprisingly strong. there were reports that central banks in the developed world are ready to help contain any negative fallout of Greek elections," said Dipen Shah,Head of Fundamental Research,Kotak Securities. The ongoing Eurozone crisis has taken a heavy toll on markets worldwide. Investors have been anxiously awaiting the Greece polls which will be decisive for the country's future in the Eurozone. Global markets believe a Greece exit would be disastrous for the fragile recovery of the world economy. In the 30-share Sensex,27 scrips ended higher led by Tata Motors which rallied 5.75 per cent today after suffering its biggest drop in two weeks yesterday. ICICI Bank,HDFC Bank and SBI closed with 1-3 per cent gains. In the auto pack,Maruti Suzuki,M&M and Hero MotoCorp ended 2.3-2.7 per cent higher. Index heavyweights ITC,Reliance and Infosys gained in the 1-1.6 per cent range. Interest rate sensitive realty stocks also attracted buying on expectations that a cut in interest rate would boost home sales. The Reserve Bank is widely expected to cut lending rates on June 18. "All eyes are on the Greece election outcome on Sunday which will shape the likely future of Eurozone," said Shanu Goel,Senior Research Analyst,Bonanza Portfolio. The 50-share NSE index Nifty rose by 84.30 points,or 1.67 per cent to 5,139.05,after toucing a high of 5,146.20. Meanwhile,the rupee after closing weak at 55.80 a dollar yesterday was last trading today at 55.71. Asian stocks ended mostly higher in choppy trade today after reports central banks of major economies are ready to provide liquidity if needed after crucial elections in Greek on Sunday. Key benchmark indices in China,Hong Kong,Taiwan,Japan,Indonesia and Singapore rose by 0.01 per cent to 2.26 per cent while South Korea's Kospi fell by 0.71 per cent. European stocks headed north in their early trade today. Key benchmark indices in London,France and Germany were up by 0.72 per cent to 1.52 per cent. An indication of a higher opening in US index futures also boosted the market sentiment. Stocks More on Tata Motors Company INFO More on Hindalco Out of the 30-share Sensex pack,27 scrips finished with gains. Major gainers included Tata Motors (5.75 pc),ICICI Bank (3.11 pc),Coal India (2.72 pc),Hindalco (2.7 pc),Maruti Suzuki (2.7 pc),M&M (2.54 pc),HDFC Bank (2.52 pc),L&T (2.27 pc),Bharti Airtel (2.15 pc) and HUL (2.12 pc). Sun Pharma (2.05 pc),NTPC (1.68 pc),Tata Steel (1.67 pc),TCS (1.62 pc),ITC (1.56 pc),RIL (1.54 pc),Tata Power (1.52 pc) and SBI (1.33 pc) also ended higher. However,Sterlite fell by 1.57 per cent and Bajaj Auto shed 1.41 per cent. Among the sectoral indices,the BSE-Auto index shot up by 2.57 per cent,followed by the BSE-Bankex (2.19 pc),the BSE-Realty (1.78 pc),the BSE-Capital Goods (1.54 pc),the BSE-FMCG (1.43 pc),the BSE-Metal (1.28 pc),the BSE-Power (1.25 pc) and the BSE-IT (1.12 pc). The market breadth turned positive as 1,525 stocks ended in green while 1,165 stocks finished in red. The total turnover declined slightly to Rs 1,722.99 crore from Rs 1,772.86 crore yesterday. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 105.08 crore yesterday as per provisional figures from the stock exchange.
