Date:28/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/28/stories/2005072802870100.htm

Back Rains fail to dampen Sensex

Our Bureau

Mumbai , July 27

HEAVY rains in Mumbai and various parts of Maharashtra failed to dampen sentiment of traders on Wednesday, as frontline stocks' prices continued to move up pushing the Sensex past the 7,600-mark, another high for the index.

But the rise in the stock prices was on low volumes, as several brokers in suburban Mumbai could not open their trading terminals due to power failure.

However, attendance in most of the brokers' offices in the city was full as their staff had to stay overnight like most office-goers.

The BSE and the NSE said that due to unscheduled consecutive banking holiday and consequent difficulties in moving funds across banks for accumulated settlements, the stock markets will remain closed on Thursday. The derivative contract expiry scheduled for Thursday will now be on Friday.

The market opened flat with low volumes and moved up as the day progressed, but the major factor for the rise in the Sensex and the Nifty was Reliance Industries reporting first-quarter results that were better than market expectations.

Other contributors that pushed the Sensex past 7,600 were SBI and HDFC Bank. Tata Steel fell as the results of the company were below market expectations.

The Sensex ended the day at 7,605.03, up 52.26 points (0.69 per cent), while the NSE's S&P CNX Nifty closed at 2,319.10, up 15.95 points (0.69 per cent). There was some selling in mid-cap and small-cap stocks too but it was not as high as on Tuesday.