Mumbai: Led by Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), old-economy stocks rallied smartly lifting the SENSEX by about 22 points at close on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on February 11 on fairly good purchases by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) as well as retail investors.

New economy scrips, however, surrendered most of their early gains due to profit- taking by operators despite a strong turnaround on Wall Street last weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished remarkably higher by about 119 points and the NASDAQ composite index closed up by 36.77 points on February 10.

Reflecting the upbeat mood, the BSE benchmark 30-share index opened past 3,500-mark and surged up to the intra-day high at 3,551.95. However, selling in technology and cement stocks trimmed gains in the SENSEX that closed at 3,515.45 as against a close of 3,493.92 on February 8, netting a rise of 21.53 points or 0.62 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 index also improved further by 15.88 points to 1,707.20 from previous close of 1,691.32.

Market sources attributed the initially remarkable rally to reports of a likely reduction in average customs duty level to 23 per cent in the coming Union Budget and heavy net purchases by FIIs on February 7.

Among the old-economy scrips, HLL, Telco, Tisco and BHEL were the most sought after stocks on hopes of good returns.

Retail investors were reportedly making investments in second-line stocks like Tata Elxsi, Gesco, IPCL, Sterlite Optical, BEL, BOB and few others from new economy counters.

PTI