Sensex rallies 180 points in late morning deals

Persistent capital inflows from foreign funds coupled with firm global cues pushed the S&P BSE Sensex up by 180 points in late morning trade today. Shares of banking, oil & gas, metal, FMCG and auto sectors were in good demand from operators. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs. 206.46 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.   Mumbai  The Sensex resumed higher at 20,600.58 points and firmed up further to trade at 20,716.76 at 11.25 am. It showed a gain of 180.12 points or 0.88 per cent from its last close. The NSE 50-share index Nifty also rose 54.15 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 6,145.60. Major gainers were — Axis Bank (2.17 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.78 per cent), Tata Steel (1.52 per cent), ITC (1.49 per cent) and HDFC (1.32 per cent). Asian stocks rose in their early trade today after a larger-than-forecast climb of US manufacturing in February tempered concern about global growth. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were up by 0.44-2.02 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.97 per cent. US stocks rose yesterday on data showing that American factory activity accelerated in February at its fastest pace in nearly four years. Source :  http://www.samachar.com/Sensex-rises-156-points-bank-stocks-rally-ocvkLVhedce.html