Markets see strong pullback; Metal, Oil, Bank indices up 7-10 per cent

31 October 2008

It was a spectacular session for the markets. Benchmark indices shot up quite sharply on the back of short covering on the first day of November series. This was the second consecutive day that markets have been jumped higher led by metal and oil strocks. Huge buying was also seen in banking, telecom, IT, auto and capital goods stocks.

The Sensex has touched an intraday high of 9,870.42, before closing at 9,788.06, up 743.55 points or 8.22% over previous close. The Nifty finished lower by 188.55 points or 6.99% at 2885.60. It has hit a high of 2921.35.

Among the frontliners, Mahindra & Mahindra jumped over 23%. HDFC, Jaiprakash Associates, ICICI Bank, Sterlite Industries, Reliance Industries, Reliance Communication, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Power, Tata Communication, HCL Tech, Cairn India and Idea Cellular gained 10-18%.

Market breadh was positive throughout the session; about 1768 shares have advanced while 1185 shares have declined. Nearly 237 shares remained unchanged. 

The BSE Metal index outperformed other indices; shot up 10.20% or 496.73 points to 5,367.60. JSW Steel jumped 32.70%. Jindal Steel, Sterlite Inds, Hindalco and Tata Steel rose 12-15%.

Oil stocks like The BSE Oil & Gas Index was up 517.29 points or 9.11% at 6,195.62. Reliance Industries gained 13.81% and ONGC rose 3.04%. However, oil marketing companies like BPCL, IOC and HPCL lost 7.12%, 3.05% and 0.21%, respectively.