Mumbai, Aug 20: A depreciating rupee coupled with news that the United Front would stand by its promise with regard to the petrol price hike at the next meeting scheduled for August 21 saw the Sensex recover by 69.26 points over the previous close to end at 4,234.63 points.

"The RBI's clarification on the latest status of the ministry's decision and the devaluation of the rupee not only eased the fear and panic but also helped trigger the rally which was due after a sharp fall on Tuesday," said a market strategist at an FII research outfit. "The markets have entered into the corrective zone and hence the reversal and upbeat trend," he further explained.

The upward rally on the Bombay Stock Exchange was marked by the significant price rise registered at the counters of select heavyweight index stocks like Hindustan Lever, Bhel, Castrol, Hindustan Petroleum, MTNL, Tata Tea and Bajaj Auto on account of heavy FII buying.

Following the Big Bull's recommendation for Global Trust Bank, the stock price has appreciated by 8 per cent over two trading sessions, attracting a circuit filter on the second consecutive day at Rs 55.50 on the BSE and Rs 51.35 on the NSE.

Hindustan Lever's share price appreciated by about 7 per cent to touch a high of Rs 1,445 on the BSE and attracted an upper limit price band at Rs 1,407.85 on the NSE.

A dealer at an FII brokerage firm said that the Sensex showed a substantial gain even though most pivotals moved in a narrow range. "This is due to the weightage of stocks like HLL, MTNL and Bhel in the 30-share index," he further explained.

Reliance was up by Rs 2, Tisco by Rs 1.50, ITC by Rs 4 and SBI by Rs 2.75. However, Telco declined by Rs 7. The prominent feature of today's session was the recovery reported at the counters of Bajaj Auto, HPCL and Bhel which moved up by Rs 25, Rs 13 and Rs 14 respectively.

Local and foreign institutional investors built huge positions at the counter of Tata Tea following rumours of a bonus issue. The stock touched an intra-day low of Rs 429 before rising sharply to touch the day's high of Rs 469.50, a gain of 5 per cent. Satyam Computers also showed a sharp price appreciation to attract a circuit filter at Rs 166.50 following the company's decision to increase the FII limit from 24 per cent to 30 per cent. Stocks like HPCL and BPCL showed moderate gains to the tune of 3 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. In kerb deals SBI quoted at a premium of Rs 7 over its official closing . yyyyyyyyyyy

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