Sensex recovers to close 181 pts higher

Mumbai: The stock market benchmark Sensex
today jumped over 180 points on the IMF projection that the Rs
61 lakh-crore economy will grow by 9.5 per cent in 2010.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share bellwether ended the
session at 17,651.73, up by 180.70 points or 1.03 per cent.
The International Monetary Fund raised the growth
forecast for the Indian economy on robust corporate earnings,
among other things.
The National Stock Exchange's wide-based Nifty-50 closed
1.06 per cent higher, at 5,296.85 points.
Taking cues from an overnight rally in the US market, the
Sensex opened on a strong note and never looked back. During
the trade, it touched a high of 17,728.37.
Analysts said that investment confidence on Dalal Street
was high after the International Monetary Fund raised India's
growth forecast for the current year to 9.5 per cent, stating
that favourable financing conditions and robust corporate
performance would accelerate economic expansion.
The lender has upped the growth projection from 8.8 per
cent, estimated in April.
"The market sentiment was boosted after the IMF raised
hopes of a better-than-expected global economic outlook,"
Ashika Stock Brokers research head Paras Bothra said.
"Reports that the US retail sales grew at its fastest
pace in four years helped the Asian space move up," he added.
Besides this, the Washington-based body said that the
world economy would grow faster than expected this year,
pushing global bourses northward.
Hectic buying was seen across the front and all sectoral
indices on the BSE ended in the green with gains up to 2 per
cent. Consumer durables, realty, IT, metal and banking stocks
were the major gainers.
IT major Infosys, which will kick off the first quarter
earning of India Inc next week, jumped 1.61 per cent. While
TCS rose by 1.70 per cent, Wipro edged up by 0.63 per cent.
Metal stocks bounced back today, with Sterlite Industries
surging by 3.55 per cent, the highest in the BSE-30. Tata
Steel rose 1.96 per cent and Hindalco 2.08 per cent.
Easing food inflation also pushed market confidence,
brokers said. Annual food inflation eased to 12.63 per cent
for the week ended June 26.
Reliance Industries Ltd, which holds the maximum weight
in the Sensex, ended 0.34 per cent higher at Rs 1,056.50.
ICICI Bank rose 1.89 per cent, SBI 2.29 per cent, HDFC 1
per cent and HDFC Bank 0.34 per cent.
In the Sensex pack, 24 scrips settled with gain, while
six ended in the red.
Among the losers, ACC fell by 0.99 per cent, the lowest
in the BSE-30, NTPC by 0.57 per cent and HUL by 0.51 per cent.
On the global front, all Asian bourses except China ended
in the green. Europe was also firm in the mid-session.