Markets close with hefty gains

It was a good close for markets as they ended with some hefty gains. The markets opened flat and was trading in a tight range throughout but gained momentum during the final hour of trade.

Sensex closed up 197.98 points or 1.42% at 14127.31, and the Nifty up 50.65 points or 1.23% at 4170.95.

State Bank of India (SBI) jumped 5% to Rs 1288.ICICI Bank was up almost 4% to Rs 921. The private sector bank on Tuesday, 15 May 2007, filed a draft prospectus with Sebi to seek approval for raising Rs 17,500 crore through an equity issue in the domestic and overseas market.

HDFC Bank rose almost 2% to Rs 1030.30. Two large block deals were executed in the stock on two exchanges NSE and BSE: A block deal of 15.5 lakh shares at Rs 1,019.80 on NSE and another large block deal of 15.35 lakh shares at Rs 1,014 on BSE.

Reliance Industries rose 2.2% to Rs 1634.40, a lifetime closing high. RIL said on Tuesday, 15 May 2007, it had made two gas discoveries in separate blocks off the east and west coasts of the country. The commerciality of the above discoveries is currently under evaluation.