Markets start October on a bullish note

Riding on its robust rally in September, wherein the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange index, the Sensex, logged record gains in terms of points -- third largest ever in a month - 2,098 points or 12%.

The bulls seem to be in no mood to relent, they have started the month October with a bang. The Sensex today gained a solid 376 points at 20,445.

The day started on a positive note despite mixed cues from the global markets. The Sensex opened 25 points higher at 20,094.

The rally gathered steam as the day progressed and the index touched a high of 20,475 - which is just 700-odd points short of its all-time peak of 21,207.

Liquidity -- backed by heavy FIIs remains the single major driver of this rally. Realty stocks today led the up move, followed by Metal, Capital Goods, IT and Autos. FMCG stocks, however, underperformed.

The BSE Realty index surged 4% to 3,877, and the Metal index soared 3.9% to 17,517. The Capital Goods, IT and auto indexes were up around 2.5% each.

The mid-caps and small-caps indices also fared almost in sync with the benchmark indices thereby logging gains in the range of 1.5-2% each. The same resulted into an extremely positive market breadth, with nearly two advancing stocks for every declining scrip.

The NSE Nifty ended with a gain of 113 points at 6143.

Sterlite was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks - it zoomed over 5% to Rs 175 after the Supreme Court of India put a stay on Madras High Court order stating closure

of its Tamil Nadu plant.

BHEL, TCS and Hindalco rallied around 4% each to Rs 2,590, Rs 960 and Rs 204, respectively.

Jindal Steel added 3.5% to Rs 732. Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Wipro and DLF advanced nearly 3% each to Rs 713, Rs 1,483, Rs 461 and Rs 388, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Power, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank were the other major gainers today.

MID-CAPS & SMALL-CAPS

Motilal Oswal was the top gainer in the mid-cap space, up nearly 20% at Rs 214. Shree Global Trading, IFCI, Zuari Industries, Godrej Consumers, Wockhardt and Indraprastha Gas were the other major gainers.

Pipavav Shipyard tumbled nearly 9% to Rs 86. Sigrun Holdings, Honeywell Auto, KGN Industries, GTL Infra and Redington India were the other notable losers.

From the small-cap space, Parenteral Drug zoomed 20% to Rs 298. Orchid Chemicals surge over 14%. Sujana Towers, Splash Media and PNB Gilts rallied around 10% each. Nitesh Estates, Tata Elxsi, VIP Industries and Noida Toll Bridge were the other major gainers.

On the other hand, Koutons Retail slumped 10% to Rs 155. JMD Telefilms, TTK Prestige, Shristi Infra, TTK Healthcare and Jay Shree Tea were the other major losers.