Sensex wipes out four days losses in one day

Gains 434 points to close at 19,696 on earning optimism,lower oil prices and firm global markets; Nifty up 125.80 points.

Just when everybody thought that Dalal Street lost its winning ways,bulls were back with a bang on Wednesday. After being under pressure for four straight trading sessions,the market snapped its losing stint and gained 434 points to close at 19,696 on renewed all-round optimism about corporate earnings,firm global cues and a fall in crude oil prices from two-year highs.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex resumed lower at 19,187.01 and dropped to a low of 19,101.63. However,it recovered to touch the days high of 19,737.33 before settling at 19,696.86 a net gain of 434.32 points or 2.25 per cent from the previous close. The Sensex had tumbled 439.19 points or 2.23 per cent,in the last five sessions. The NSE 50-share Nifty also shot up 125.80 points or 2.17 per cent to end at 5,911.50 on Wednesday.

Analysts said investors were expecting good fourth quarter results and chose to shrug off lower industrial output numbers and fears of further hike in interest rates because of high inflation.

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On the other hand,oil prices eased by nearly four dollars a barrel for the main US contract on indications that demand may soften. Capital goods,auto,IT and banking counters attracted heavy buying interest. Mid-cap and Small-cap counters also got good support from operators and retail investors.

Market players seem to have forgotten the slowdown in the industrial growth to 3.6 per cent in February compared with 15.1 per cent expansion in the same month last year. Despite a truncated week,market volumes were quite impressive as compared to past two trading days. Technically,the NSE Nifty bounced back sharply finding strong support at its 200 DMA ahead of the results season,all eyes would be on Infosys quarterly numbers which will be announced on Friday, said Amar Ambani,Head of Research,IIFL. Investors resorted to heavy bargain hunting as the market was beaten down in the last four trading sessions.

Led by Infosys Technologies,shares of software companies saw some frenzied buying by funds,lifting the sectoral index by 2.15 per cent amidst high on expectations of robust fourth quarter numbers.

The 10-share BSE IT index,which had witnessed a persistent fall in the past few sessions,rallied to close at 141.02 points,or 2.15 per cent higher at 6,686.12 on the back of a strong recovery in IT majors like Infosys Technologies,TCS and Wipro.