Sensex gains 310 points; oil and gas stocks rise (Roundup)

Mumbai, July 22 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Tuesday closed trade 310.63 points or 1.21 percent up on positive international cues and a surge in oil and gas stocks.

All the sectors, except capital goods and power, ended in green. The rally was led by oil and gas, information technology (IT), metal, healthcare and technology, entertainment and media (TECK) stocks.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 25,784.48 points, ended the trade at 26,025.80 points, up 310.63 points or 1.21 percent from the previous day's close at 25,715.17 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 26,050.38 points and a low of 25,780.39 points in the trade so far.

This is the sixth straight session of gains for the markets and the first close above 26,000 points in the period. The Sensex had hit a record high of 26,190.44 points on July 8.

"Markets closed more than one percent higher after significant volatility during the day. Supportive global markets, slight easing of geopolitical tensions and continued optimism on long term growth prospects of the economy helped sentiments," said Dipen Shah of Kotak Securities.

"The markets will likely continue to focus on issues like monsoon, global economy and quarterly results in the short term."

The S&P BSE oil and gas index surged by 188.27 points, IT index increased by 167.23 points, metal index moved up by 136.28 points, healthcare index got augmented by 114.86 points and TECK index which surged by 106.56 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too closed the trade with healthy gains. It was up 83.65 points or 1.09 percent at 7,767.85 points close to its record high of 7,808.85 points hit on July 8.

The bourses took cue from the Asian markets which rallied. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.84 percent, and Hong Kong's Heng Seng ended trade up 1.69 percent higher, while China's Shanghai Composite Index went 1.02 percent up.

The major Sensex gainers were: Bharti Airtel, up 4.81 percent at Rs.353.25; Reliance Industries (RIL), up 3.35 percent at Rs.1,030.80; HDFC, up 2.93 percent at Rs.1,040.70; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 2.71 percent at Rs.2,531.05; and Hindalco Inds, up 2.62 percent at Rs.188.25.

The losers were: Maruti Suzuki, down 1.00 percent at Rs.2,512.80; Larsen and Toubro (L&T), down 0.92 percent at Rs.1,654.60; Mahindra and Mahindra, down 0.51 percent at Rs.1,178.35; BHEL, down 0.32 percent at Rs.234.30; and Axis Bank, down 0.27 percent at Rs.2,017.60.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was up 0.77 percent, the French CAC 40 was higher by 0.83 percent, and Germany's DAX Index had gained 0.83 percent at the closing bell here.