Mumbai: The market made a strong turnaround under the leadership of public sector banking stocks and the Sensex ended 66 up in volatile activity at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today (Feb 6, 2004) on squaring up by operators at the weekend as well as fresh purchases by foreign funds.

Bank stocks were in the limelight on news that Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook for the long-term foreign currency deposit ratings of a number of Indian banks from negative to stable.

Mirroring firm trend, the BSE Benchmark 30-share Index rallied smartly to the intra-day high at 5800.94 after early weakness and later ended at 5786.35 as against yesterday's close of 5720.63, a net rise of 65.72 points or 1.15 per cent.

Investors, which initially looked cautious, later rushed to cover their short positions in view of the last session of the week, brokers said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) too were believed to have made heavy purchases in derivatives even as the Lok Sabha during late morning was dissolved paving the way for early general elections.

After making heavy net sales last weekend, FIIs have made net investments of Rs 469 crore in the initial two sessions.

Brokers felt that the market might remain volatile in the next couple of months in view of new equity issues, which are expected absorb substantial funds from investors.

SBI, HPCL, Bharti Televenture, Tata Motor, Tisco, Wipro, RIL, ONGC, ICICI Bank, BHEL and Infosys Tech recorded sharp gains on heavy buying interest.