SENSEX UP 128 PTS, CLOSES AT 8,326

Mumbai March 7:

Recovering from record lows, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today closed nearly 128 points higher on funds buying blue-chips led by software exporters.

The Sensex, which had touched 40-month low levels in the previous day\'s trading, turned volatile before ending with a gain of 127.90 points to 8,325.82. It moved between 8,347.74 and 8,047.17 points during the day. The 50-share Nifty of the NSE rose by 43.45 points to 2,620.15, after touching a high of 2,628.10 and a low of 2,539.25.

Trading activity in information technology gathered momentum after the dollar surged to a record high against the Indian rupee, brokers said. The IT sector index gained the most by rising 3.05 per cent to 2,072.32, led by a steep rise in Infosys, a heaviest on the index.

Infosys, the second-largest software exporter, gained 3.08 per cent to Rs 1,219.20 as the rupee headed for its third weekly drop. Tata Consultancy Services, the largest, added 3.84 per cent to Rs 480.80, and Wipro, the third-biggest, by 3.37 per cent to Rs 213.20. Over 50 per cent revenue of the Indian software companies comes from the US markets.

The teck sector index was the second-best performer, rising 2.44 per cent to 1,678.81, after shares of Patni Computers surged 9 per cent at Rs 109.45, Bharti Airtel 2.18 per cent to Rs 602.15 and Idea Cellular 2.59 per cent to Rs 45.60. The rupee fell one per cent this week to 51.655 per dollar. The oil and gas index rose by 1.76 per cent to 5,724.06 followed by capital goods at 1.54 per cent to 5561.35. The power index rose 1.34 per cent to 1,637.12, the metal index 1.32 per cent to 4,525.06, the consumer durable index 0.91 per cent to 1,495.65, the PSU index 0.88 per cent to 4,759.93 and the healthcare index 0.16 per cent to 2,545.11.

While the banking index was marginally up 0.24 per cent to 3,737.09, interest-sensitive sectors like realty, auto and FMCG segment shares recorded fresh losses. The FMCG index dropped by 1.73 per cent to 1,854.11, the realty index 0.89 per cent to 1,346.83 and the auto index 0.63 per cent to 2,597.37. In volatile trading activity, the smallcap index fell 0.89 point at 2,911.73 and the midcap index by 0.65 point to 2,586.30.
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