Sensex ends 40 pts up in special trading
business 04:50
Mumbai, May 11: The BSE benchmark Sensex on Saturday gained 40 points in a special two-hour trading session as investors indulged in selective buying of bluechip stocks tracking gains in healthcare and metal sector shares.
The 30-share index, which had regained 20,000 level after over three months on Friday, added another 39.70, or 0.20 percent to settle at 20,122.32.
Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 12,50 points, or 0.21 percent to 6,107.25.
The bourse had organised a two-hour special trading session between 1115 and 1245 hrs in the derivatives, cash and Securities Lending and Borrowing Scheme (SLB) segments from its disaster recovery site on Saturday.
Brokers said the trading volumes were low as investors took advantage of the special trading and picked up few fundamentally strong stocks.
They said the upsurge was mostly backed by pharmaceutical and metal sectors amid an overnight firming trend in the US market.
The US stock markets posted a third consecutive week of gains Friday night with a rise in Google and other technology shares with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ending at record highs.
Out of the 30 BSE shares, 21 stocks witnessed gains led by Dr Reddy's Lab, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Coal India.