Mumbai: The SENSEX gained by another 1.11 per cent, extending its winning string to seventh straight week, largely on the back of a remarkable rally in a select heavyweighted stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) during the week on consistent buying support.

Bank shares were in the limelight scoring sharp gains on strong expectations that the sector has better prospects as a result of the passage of securitisation bill by the government last month.

Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Federal Bank, Oriental Bank, UTI Bank, Vijaya Bank, ICICI Bank and J&K Bank registered hefty gains on heavy buying.

Generally, the sentiment was well supported by prediction of Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) gaining majority in Gujarat Assembly elections ahead of the counting on December 15, by exit polls commissioned by two leading TV networks as well as indication that the government would take early decision on Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) sell-off.

The SENSEX got a major boost from the heavy weighted counter Infosys Technologies, which attracted keen demand and recorded a marked rise as a result of the relatively low share price at home as against the American Depository Receipts (ADR) on the NASDAQ.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) which had been net sellers last week, have made investments to the tune of Rs 202 crore in four sessions between December 9 and 12, lifting the morale of domestic investors.

Blue chip stocks like Infosys Tech, HLL, HDFC, ITC Ltd, SBI and Bajaj Auto registered handsome rises.

Brokers feel that results of Gujarat Assembly elections hold the key for future trend with American markets showing discouraging performance during the week.

After an initial setback, the BSE Benchmark 30-share index recovered smartly and gradually moved upwards to the week's high at 3,349.40 before ending the week at 3,342.97 as against last weekend's close of 3,306.29, netting a rise of 36.68 points. The broad-based BSE-100 Index firmed up by 14.49 points to finish the week at 1,647.47 from preceding weekend's close of 1,632.98.

PTI