MUMBAI, July 29: Pivotals staged a modest rally on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today on emergence of short covering coupled with fresh buying support by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

The sensex recovered by 36 points.

The BSE sensitive index recovered from 4171.11 to 4218.98 before closing at 4217.50 with a net gain of 36.10 points compared to the previous level of 4181.48. The BSE-100 index also rose by 15.18 points to 1839.91 from previous closing of 1824.63.

Brokers said the sentiment turned for better influenced by hectic short covering on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on account of end-account considerations. Most of the operators covered their short positions in line with trend on the NSE which attracts brisk activity.

FIIs purchased shares of Hind Ciba, Escorts, Tata Tea and others. The overnight sharp losers like ITC and Bajaj Auto also recovered partially on speculative support. ICICI remained in the limelight with a sharp upswing of Rs 8.75 to Rs 97 on heavy buying prompted by its excellent working in the first quarter of the current financial year.

Bajaj Auto recovered smartly by Rs 34.50 to Rs 906.25 on short covering. Colgate gained Rs 16.75 at Rs 325.75, Hindustan Lever Rs 17 at Rs 1393, and Herdo Hond Rs 9 at Rs 625.25.

On the NSE, pivotals gained moderately on the last day of the current settlement on fresh purchases for squaring up positions by investors and institutions. The NSE-50 index closed at 1190.30, showing a gain of 8.65 points. The Midcap index closed at 1293.85, showing a fall of 1.75 points. The total volume of business was Rs 1619.29 crore.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.