Telecom stocks push Sensex up 182 pts

In past two sessions,the bellwether added 362 points. During the week,the Sensex recorded a cumulative jump of 2.13 per cent.

The broader Nifty-50 index of the National Stock Exchange,too,added 1.04 per cent to close at 5,352.10 points.

8220;Market sentiment is upbeat after the IMF raised India8217;s growth forecast. A recovery in global markets is also helping the local bourses to move northward,8221; CNI Research CMD Kishore P Ostwal said.

Telecom stocks were the best performers,after Credit Suisse upgraded the frontline players. Bharti Airtel,zoomed up about 10 per cent,the most in the Sensex pack,to close at Rs 308.10. Anil Ambani-led RCOM,too,moved up 2.82 per cent and Idea Cellular jumped over 13 per cent.

IT bellwether Infosys,the heaviest scrip in the Sensex after RIL,surged 1.63 per cent on hopes of strong growth in the first quarter. Infosys will kick off India Inc8217;s earning season on July 13. Wipro,another IT major,rose 1 per cent.

8220;The first quarter is expected to be another quarter of strong volume growth for the front-line IT companies,as the demand environment remains buoyant in the US and the emerging economies and on account of their limited exposure to Ireland,Portugal,Italy,Greece and Spain economies,8221; Sharekhan said.

Aggressive buying was witnessed across the front and all the sectoral indices,except FMCG,on the BSE ended in green.

Realty,technology,metal,banking and IT stocks were major gainers.

Realty major DLF spurted 4.73 per cent. Metal stocks were in demand following a price rise on the London Metal Exchange.

Hindalco rose 2.52 per cent,Sterlite Industries 1.5 per cent,Tata Steel 2.4 per cent and Jindal Steel 1.5 per cent.

Among the front line financial stocks,HDFC Bank moved up 3.09 per cent,ICICI Bank 1.09 per cent,HDFC 1.09 per cent and SBI 0.51 per cent.

Auto stocks also attracted buying,with Tata Motors rising 1.92 per cent,Mamp;M 2.52 per cent and Maruti 1.39 per cent.

However,Reliance Industries Ltd8211;the nation8217;s most valued firm8211;did not participate in rally and ended 0.06 per cent lower.

In the BSE-30,22 stocks ended with gain,while 8 scrips closed in red.

Among the losers,HUL fell 1.26 per cent,the most in the Sensex components. ACC lost 0.94 per cent,RelInfra 0.85 per cent and ITC 0.73 per cent.