Sensex scales Mt 50k, 208 days after 25k dip

{ ASHISH CHAUHAN } CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BSE

Sensex is the heartbeat of India. 50,000... is just the start. Next 40 to 50 will be exciting!

MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex index vaulted past the 50,000 mark for the first time, capping a phenomenal run that lifted the stock markets to a record amid a deadly pandemic.

The benchmark index climbed as much as 0.7% to 50,184 in intra-day trading on Thursday, almost doubling from its March nadir. The index broke through 50,000 with a gap-up opening in the morning, and stayed above the mark for most of the day, before giving up the gains. The Sensex closed at 49,624.76.

The remarkable stocks’ rally was seeded in March as local investors started buying the panic, although few could have predicted then that the rebound would be so sharp and so soon. As central banks around the world adopted expansionary monetary policies to support their economies, foreign liquidity flowed into Indian stock markets, driving the unprecedented boom.

The surge in equity prices was also fuelled by a swifter-than-expected economic recovery, underlining India’s economic resilience and the importance of the markets as an engine of prosperity.