The BSE Sensex was up 543.88 points or 3.55% to 15,832.78 on easing credit worries in United States following JP Morgan Chase and Co's improved offer to buy Bear Stearns.
All sectoral indices on BSE advanced. The BSE Consumer Durables index (up 3.76% to 3,623.69), the BSE Power (up 3.90% to 3,078.44), the BSE Metal index (up 4.22% to 13,327.18), the BSE Realty index (up 4.42% at 7,106.81), the BSE Oil and Gas index (up 3.08% to 10,030.26), and the BSE IT index (up 4.67% to 3,581.80), outperformed the Sensex.
The BSE Auto (up 1.89% at 4,487.51), the BSE Health Care index (up 1.83% at 3,746.29), the BSE Capital Goods index (up 3.45% at 13,682.39), The BSE TecK index (up 4.46% to 3,051.43), the BSE PSU index (up 2.89% to 7,416.27), the BSE FMCG index (up 1.25% at 2,207.35), underperformed the Sensex.
The BSE Bankex had underperformed the market over the past one month till 24 March 2008, declining 23.70% compared to the Sensex’s fall of 11.87%. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 30.24% compared to Sensex’s decline of 22.99%.
ICICI Bank (up 6.02% to Rs 854), State Bank of India (up 4% to Rs 1712), Axis Bank (up 10.10% to Rs 790.20), and HDFC Bank (up 3.56% to Rs 1385), were the key gainers from BSE Bankex.