Wednesday, March 2 2005 17:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Under the lead of bank and metals shares, the Sensex today (March 2, 2005) rallied by 35.81 points to close at 6686.89 on the stock exchange (BSE) following a late bout of heavy buying from foreign funds and local operators, overcoming hectic profit-taking midway.

The BSE benchmark 30-share sensitive index resumed higher at 6658.94 as against the previous close of 6651.08, but thereafter it eased to a low of 6647.11. Later, it recovered to an intra-day high of 6708.78, before closing at 6686.89, showing a smart rise of 0.54 per cent.

Bank counters found good support on Reserve Bank of India announcement of a roadmap for reforms in the banking sector.

Meanwhile, metal and cement also rose smartly due to some soaps given in the budget like more spending on infrastructure and rural developments.

Bharti Televenture attracted heavy buying and shot up to touch an all-time intra-day high of Rs 240.70 on expectations of an ADS issue from the company in this quarter, a broker said.

ONGC declined sharply to Rs 856 after its block deal of 86 lakh shares at the rate of Rs 865 per shares valued at Rs 746 crores.

Among gainers, Bharti rose by 12.20, Grasim by 16.15, SBI by 10.85, ICICI Bank by 17.20, Hindalco by 11.50, RIL by 2.00, Tata Steel by 7.50, Wipro by 4.40, Satyam 2.70, GACL by 2.75 and ACC by 5.65.

However, oil stocks like HPCL, BPCL and IOC came under pressure and declined sharply.