Hectic short-coverings mainly in key heavyweights on the last day of September series amid positive global trends helped the benchmark
Sensex to rebound by 252 points to end at 16,698.07, despite
rise in food inflation .
Although the Sensex registered smart gains, total market breadth was negative as second-line stocks underperformed the Sensex, reflecting non-participation of retail investors.
The top heavyweight RIL along with Infosys Tech, ICICI Bank, ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank and ONGC notched handsome gains and together added over 200 points to the Sensex surge.
Auto, IT, FMCG, refinery and banking counters attracted good buying interest.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer initially touched a low of 16,316.66 on weak Asian trend in late morning deals, but bounced back sharply in line with smart recovery in Asian stocks after midsession.
The index later touched a high of 16,756.08 due also to firm European opening and settled at 16,698.07, displaying a rise of 252.05 points or 1.53 pct.
Similarly, the NSE 50-issue Nifty also shot up by 69.55 points or 1.41 pct to finish at 5,015.45.
Brokers attributed recovery after early fall to frenzied short-coverings on the last day of derivatives contract and rolling over their positions to the next series.
Renewed buying by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) also aided the sentiment. FIIs bought shares worth Rs 184.97 crore yesterday as per provisional data.
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