Mumbai: Stocks scored impressive gains for second straight day lifting the Sensex by another 51 points at close in lacklustre activity on the Stock Exchange in Mumbai (BSE) today (Nov 2, 2004) on fresh buying support prompted by a plunge in crude prices in Asian trade this morning.

The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index opened firm at 5713.24 and gradually moved upwards to the intra-day high at 5765.14 before ending the session at 5754.76 as against yesterday's close of 5704.10, a net rise of 50.66 points or 0.89 per cent.

The market found respite as global crude oil prices slipped below $ 50 a barrel in Asian trade but the volume still remained low due to cautious approach by investors following concerns over the US presidential elections.

Buying support was in the form of short covering by some operators, said brokers, even as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and local funds reported fairly heavy net investments during last week.

FIIs reported net purchases of Rs 2330.90 crore while Mutual Funds were net buyers to the tune of Rs 277.40 crore in five sessions last week.

Blue chip counters including RIL, ITC, HLL, Grasim, GACL, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's registered remarkable gains on fresh buying support.

VSNL attracted brisk activity and closed strong on news that the company has acquired Tyco Global Network of USA.

However, Infosys Technologies and L&T fell sharply due to selling pressure.

The broad-based BSE-100 Index jumped by 27.46 points to 3075.28 from previous close of 3047.82.