Friday, March 18 2005 17:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Discounting concerns over high crude oil prices and negative Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) activity, the stock market snapped a five-session long string of losses and ended with 31 points gain on the back of a pull-back rally.

The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index opened weak at 6664.65 and later turned volatile in a wide range of 6710.98 and 6595.53 before ending the day at 6700.34 against yesterday's (Mar 17, 2005) close of 6669.52, a net gain of 30.82 points or 0.46 per cent.

Operators were forced to cover short positions in select heavy weighted counters at the weekend amid negative activity by FIIs and concerns that high international crude prices would result in a hike in prices of petroleum products at home, brokers said.

Oil prices cooled off slightly on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Asian trade, as the market took profits from the overnight record high of more than $ 57 a barrel. Light sweet crude for April delivery was quoted at $ 56.25 a barrel at midmorning in Asia.

FIIs reported net sales of Rs 198.70 crore for Wednesday (Mar 16, 2005) taking the total withdrawal to Rs 244.80 crore on March 15 and 16.

Meanwhile, encouraging statement by IMF chief Rodrigo de Rato had a soothing impact on the market.

Rato has lauded the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government's reforms agenda saying they would result in India attracting more investments, both domestic and foreign.

RIL, Wipro, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Infosys Tech, Maruti Udyog, ICICI Bank, GACL, BHEL and Bharti Tele-Venture recorded smart gains on heavy buying support.