October 22, 2006	Sunday	Ramazan 28, 1427

MUMBAI, Oct 21: Indian shares closed up 0.22 per cent Saturday on retail buying, snapping four straight days of losses during a short ceremonial trading session to mark the festival of Diwali.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex rose one per cent to an intraday high of 12,837.28 before slipping on profit-booking to close at 12,736.82, up 27.42 points or 0.22 per cent.

Dealers said investors made festive purchases during the 75-minute session to mark the new accounting year.

The overall sentiment appears strong, looking at the economic growth story. There appears to be stiff resistance in the near-term as the market draws closer to the 13,000 levels, said a dealer with brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher.

Indian shares have risen 35.5 per cent in the year, led by foreign fund investments of $6.19 billion in Indian equities.—AFP