Mumbai: Bull operators tightened their grip sending the Sensex to close above 5200-mark for the first time in 2-1/2 months and closed at 5202.53, up by 32.21 points or 0.62 per cent, at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today (Aug 2, 2004) on sustained buying by foreign funds as well as operators and completed three-session gaining streak.

Cement, some of the refinery and auto shares were in the limelight on persistent buying by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who reportedly were busy in churning their portfolios, according to some dealers.

Revival of monsoon in some parts of the country mainly enthused operators and retail investors to enlarge their commitments, particularly in mid-cap stocks.

The BSE-30 share sensitive index opened firm at 5193.25 as against last Friday's close of 5170.32 and moved in a range between 5210.92 and 5167.29 before concluding at 5202.53, the level not seen after May 13, 2004 when the Sensex had ended at 5399.47.

The broad-based BSE-100 index also improved further by 13.38 points to settle at 2768.60 from previous close of 2755.22.

FIIs made purchases worth Rs 913.6 crore ($ 201.1 million) in equities for the month of July and were seen purchasing blue-chip counters while Mutual Funds (MFs) recorded net sales of Rs 508.6 crore in the same period.

The FIIs registered their highest inflow in equities for the month at Rs 162.2 crore ($35.7 mn) on July 30.

However, some of the IT and pharma shares attracted profit-booking at higher levels.