Ignoring weakness in global stocks, the Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index, Sensex, managed to close in the positive terrain for the fourth day in succession on Tuesday. The Sensex closed higher by 60 points at 15688.47 on buying by foreign and domestic institutional investors in key counters. It closed at 15628.75 on Monday.
After losing considerably by over 205 points in late morning deals on weak cues from its Asian peers, the Sensex shot up on revival of buying, mainly in Tata Motors, Reliance, Wipro, Grasim among others.
Marketmen said buying interest was sparked after the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the economy seemed to have weathered the global financial storm.
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Brokers said the sustained rally on local bourses forced operators and investors to cover their short positions or roll over to the next series ahead of the expiry of derivatives contract on Thursday.
Tata Motors was biggest gainer among Sensex stocks. The scrip of the home-grown auto major rose by 7.1 per cent in tune with the surge of 8 per cent in its ADR on Monday on expectations of JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) turning profitable by 2011.
Wipro was the next biggest gainer at 3.86 per cent. Reliance Industries jumped by 2.51 per cent.
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Rupee weakens
Breaking the four-session of uptrend, the rupee weakened by 14 paisa against the dollar on Tuesday and closed at 48.76.
The rupee closed at 48.62 a dollar on Monday.
The rupee resumed lower at 48.82/84 and touched a high of 48.69 intra-day.
Forex dealers attributed initial sharp fall in the rupee to weakness in equity markets in early trade and sustained month-end dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners.