Mumbai: After a four-session gap, shares of public sector undertakings (PSUs) once again stole the limelight scoring handsome gains and pushing the SENSEX up by about 34 points at close on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on February 22 on a fresh buying spree by operators.

While Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), which have been consistent net buyers since February 6, reportedly made selective purchases, speculators, after a brief pause, cornered sizeable chunk of PSU stocks which having been substantially underpriced, providing excellent investment opportunity with the government's disinvestment process being put on a fast track.

After a cautious start at 3565.46, the BSE Benchmark 30-share Index later made a turnaround and rallied smartly to end at 3604.08 as against February 21 close of 3570.64, netting a rise of 33.62 points or 0.94 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 Index firmed up by 20.56 points to 1747.81 from previous close of 1727.25.

Though the market developed resistance at early stages due to a overnight negative reaction on Wall Street, strong hopes of big ticket reforms in the coming budget prompted hectic buying by players in the latter part of the session.

The Nasdaq Composite Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Averages dipped by about 59 points and 106 points on February 21.

Meanwhile, the government, taking a step forward to big ticket labour reforms, has approved a legal provision that would allow easier closure and lay-off of workers in economically unviable units employing upto 1000 persons.

PTI