Sensex ends 184 pts up on strong global cues

The Sensex crossed the psychological 17,000 mark in early trade this morning as the bulls, backed by strong global markets and recent buoyant economic reports, stormed the ring and grabbed stocks almost across the board. The barometer then moved in a tight band for almost the entire duration of the session but was never really in any danger of losing ground as several front line stocks held on to their gains thanks to sustained buying support.While the Sensex, which rose to 17,083.20 in afternoon trades, ended the day at 17,032.51 with a sharp gain of 183.68 points or 1.09%, the Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange closed at 5058.05, slightly off the day's high of 5073.20, with a gain of 59.10 points or 1.18%.

Notwithstanding the recent upward revision in inflation forecast by the Apex bank and concerns over a possible hike in interest rates in the near future, investors remained upbeat thanks to a firm trend across the globe. The sentiment was also aided by strong industrial production data for September (announced on Thursday last week) and the government's plans to sell some of its stakes in several state run firms in order to raise funds for various social welfare schemes and to reduce the widening fiscal deficit.Realty stocks bounced back into the reckoning. Auto and metal stocks were the other impressive performers of the day. Oil stocks took time to settle down but rallied well in afternoon trades. Select consumer durables, bank, power and pharma stocks closed with sharp gains.Capital goods, PSU and FMCG stocks lacked support at higher levels and shed some of their gains. Information technology stocks remained subdued almost right through the session. It was a good day for several stocks from midcap and smallcap segments as well.Maruti Suzuki ended stronger by nearly 5.5%. Hero Honda moved up 3.85%. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra gained 2.35% and 1.8% respectively.DLF gained over 4.5%. Sterlite Industries, Reliance Communications, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever, Grasim Industries and State Bank of India ended higher by 2% - 3.75%. Sun Pharmaceuticals, Reliance Industries, ONGC, ACC, Jaiprakash Associates, Reliance Infrastructure andICICI Bank also closed on a firm note. Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Tata Power, ITCand Larsen & Toubro closed with modest gains.Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies ended with modest losses, while NTPC, HDFC Bank, BHEL and HDFC ended flat.Suzlon Energy closed with a strong gain of 7.35% on reports of a big order win. Reliance Power notched up over 5%. Siemens gained over 3%.Idea Cellular, Unitech, GAIL India, ABB, Ambuja Cements, Jindal Steel,Reliance Capital, Cairn India and Punjab National Bank also closed on a firm note today.Everest Kanto Cylinder shot up by 9.6%. Pantaloon Retail ended nearly 7% up. RECL, IRB Infrastructure, Jain Irrigation Systems, Lanco Infratech,Aban Offshore, Hindustan Zinc, Shriram Transport, GVK Power, Zee Entertainment, Koutons Retail, Bajaj Auto and Financial Technologies also closed with strong gains.Midcap stock BF Utilities ended with a hefty gain of 20%. Amtek Auto, HT Media, ING Vysya Bank, Gammon Infrastructure, SKF India, Motherson Sumi, IPCA Laboratories, Aban Offshore, Info Edge, Alfa Laval andKalpataru Power recorded impressive gains.The market breadth was strong right through the day. Out of 2864 stocks traded on BSE today, 1758 stocks closed higher. 1017 stocks declined and 89 stocks ended flat.