After a subdued start, the markets gained significantly towards the end of the day on the back of fresh buying in energy and IT stocks. The mood is being bullish recently backed by better-than-expected corporate earnings and positive global cues.
Also liquidity has been a major driver for the rally. The foreign institutional investors have so far pumped in Rs 36,646 crore (Rs 366.46 billion) this year. In July alone they bought shares worth Rs 11,066 crore at the net level.
The Sensex on Wednesday opened 52 points higher and soon touched a high of 15,973, up 143 points. The index, however, slipped into red and touched a low of 15,695, down 278 points from day's high, owing to follow-up selling. Late in the day, the Sensex rebounded and finally settled at 15,903, up 72 points.
The NSE Nifty ended at 4,694, up 14 points.
In the process, the BSE index on Wednesday ended near its highest close so far this year. The index recorded its highest closing for this year at 15,924 this Monday, up 65 per cent from its close on Dec 31, 2009.
Similarly, other sectoral indices have also posted smart gains from year-till-period. The Metal and Auto indices have out-performed the Sensex by a wide margin. The BSE Metal index soared 145.82% from its close on Dec 31,2009, backed by surge in base metal prices. The BSE Auto index zoomed 145.71% from its close on last year end, backed by strong sets of numbers in the first quarter results.
| Index Name | 2008 Close | 2009 Closing High | Date Achieved | % Gain |
| Metal | 5214.35 | 12818.02 | 3-Aug | 145.82 |
| BSE-Auto | 2444.71 | 6006.83 | 4-Aug | 145.71 |
| BSE-Cap | 6911.12 | 13466.82 | 10-Jun | 94.86 |
| BSE-IT | 2227.96 | 4034.23 | 5-Aug | 81.07 |
| Realty | 2274.13 | 4116.99 | 4-Jun | 81.04 |
| Smallcap | 3683.11 | 6525.19 | 4-Jun | 77.17 |
| Midcap | 3235.05 | 5702.58 | 3-Aug | 76.27 |
| Oil & Gas | 6050.04 | 10539.83 | 10-Jun | 74.21 |
| BSE-200 | 1156.59 | 1941.93 | 3-Aug | 67.90 |
| BSE-500 | 3596.85 | 6038.06 | 3-Aug | 67.87 |
| Power | 1829.31 | 3069.45 | 10-Jun | 67.79 |
| Bse-Consumer | 1913.74 | 3191.06 | 27-Jul | 66.74 |
| BSE-100 | 4988.04 | 8310.32 | 3-Aug | 66.60 |
| Sensex | 9647.31 | 15924.23 | 3-Aug | 65.06 |
| PSU | 5279.61 | 8692.37 | 5-Jun | 64.64 |
| Bankex | 5454.54 | 8567.69 | 3-Aug | 57.07 |
| Teck | 1974.04 | 2964.67 | 3-Aug | 50.18 |
| BSE-FMCG | 1987.38 | 2738.15 | 31-Jul | 37.78 |
| BSE-Health | 2966.19 | 3876.5 | 27-Jul | 30.69 |
INDEX MOVERS...
ONGC rallied 4.5% to Rs 1,192 and Reliance gained 1.5% to Rs 2,075, owing to rising crude oil prices.
Wipro surged 3.5% to Rs 498 and Infosys advanced 2.5% to Rs 2,094.
ACC gained nearly 3% to Rs 925. Sun Pharma added 2% to Rs 1,182.
Reliance Infrastructure, Grasim, Tata Motors, Sterlite, ICICI Bank and Tata Power were up 1-2% each.
Among the Nifty stocks, BPCL added 2.5% to Rs 501.
...AND THE SHAKERS
Maruti Suzuki plunged over 3% to Rs 1,441. Hindalco and DLF declined nearly 2% each to Rs 113 and Rs 391, respectively.
HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever shed 1.5% each to Rs 1,447 and Rs 290, respectively.
Among the Nifty stocks, National Aluminium and Jindal Steel declined 2.5% each.