Mumbai: Technology stocks rallied smartly aiding the SENSEX to gain 26 points at close in otherwise lacklustre activity on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on August 20 on steady flow of buying from speculators as well as fairly heavy purchases by institutional investors.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were believed to be heavy net buyers in IT stocks, particularly in Satyam Computers, Infosys Technologies and HCL Tech which have sizeable weightage in the SENSEX.

The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index opened moderately higher at 3,071.13 and gradually moved upwards to the intra-day high at 3,094.80 before ending at 3,089.58 as against a close of 3,064.04 on August 19, a rise of 25.54 points or 0.83 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 Index moved up by 12.76 points to 1,559.72 from previous close of 1,546.96.

Attributing the upsurge in software counters to overnight strong trend on Wall Street, which helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 212.73 points and the NASDAQ Composite Index by 33.53 points, brokers said FII activity was confined more to IT sector than elsewhere.

Domestic funds and speculators reportedly toed the FII line by making selective purchases, they added.

The unexpected rally has turned the market optimistic about an upward trend with investors looking at the crucial 3,130-resistance level which might prevent the upsurge, market sources said.

PTI