Sharp recovery in Sensex after early dip below 4000

MUMBAI, MAY 15. After an initial crash to a 11-month low, stocks bounced back with a vengeance in high volatility and the Sensex closed with a sharp net gain of about 105 points on the opening day of the new account on the Bombay Stock Exchange today on aggressive purchases by domestic institutions.

The BSE sensitive index opened sharply down at 4024.66 and dipped below the crucial 4000 mark to the day's low of 3912.95 following fresh offloading by operators, shaken by last week's meltdown, ahead of the final decision on a hike in U.S. interest rates tomorrow.

This is the first time in the last eleven months that the index dipped below 4000-mark. It had touched a low of 3876.56 on June 16, 1999.

However, the market witnessed a strong turnaround after the opening session following aggressive purchases by financial institutions and mutual funds in old economy stocks.

Foreign institutional investors too lent support to the recently battered ICE counters.

Reflecting the late rally, the benchmark flared up to the intra- day high of 4249.45 before closing at 4212.53 against Friday's close of 4107.14, netting a rise of 105.39 or 2.57 per cent. The BSE-100 index improved by 41.14 points to 2108.92 from the previous close of 2067.78.

Operators were also seen enlarging their positions in line with shortcovering on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) with low badla rates of about six per cent and a sharp fall in net outstandings which stood at Rs. 1628 crores.

Of the 140 specified scrips, 90 registered sharp to moderate gains while 45 recorded falls and five held steady.

Sterlite closed at the upper end of the 12 per cent circuit filter while Philips hit the 12 per cent lower price band. The BSE-200 index and the dollex were quoted remarkably up at 452.43 and 171.08 as compared with weekend close of 444.25 and 168.41 respectively.

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Business
Previous : Bullion rates
Next     : Rangarajan's call for credible statistical system