Wednesday, February 9 2005 18:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The Sensex today (Feb 9, 2005) surged by 49 points to close at 6593.53 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), driven up by hectic buying in key counters and extended the rally to the second straight session.

Sentiments turned positive after Foreign funds showed keen interest in Midcap shares which helped Sensex to post smart gains even as retail and local operators joined the buying band wagon, dealers said.

Select heavyweights such as BHEL, Grasim, HDFC Bank, L&T, HPCL, Infosys Tech, Maruti and SBI showed remarkable rally on renewed buying.

Dealers said the firm condition was expected to extend tomorrow.

The 30-share BSE Sensitive Index opened the day on a higher note at 6556.53 and rose further on persistent support and after crossing the 6600 mark level touched an intra-day high of 6613.54. Thereafter, it moved down to 6553.40, before closing at 6593 53, showing a smart rise of 48.76 points or 0.75 per cent over yesterday's close of 6544.77.

FIIs had made a remarkable buying of over Rs 3000 crores since February 1 with the biggest purchase worth Rs 1374 crores on February 2.

Dealers said the market was likely to remain highly volatile in the coming days since the Union Budget is just two week away.

Other firm spots were ACC, Dr Reddy, GACL, Hero Honda, HLL, ICICI Bank, ITC, ONGC, RIL, Satyam, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and ZEE Tele on hectic buying.