Hindustan Times (Ranchi)

SENSEX MAKES HISTORY, ENDS ABOVE 50,000 FOR FIRST TIME

- Press Trust of India feedback@livemint.com

MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex closed above the historic 50,000-mark for the first time ever on Wednesday as the postBudget euphoria continued for the third straight session amid a spurt in buying by foreign funds and positive global cues. Banking, finance and pharma counters hogged the limelight, while cement and FMCG stocks succumbed to profit-taking.

After touching a record intraday high of 50,526.39, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended at 50,255.75, up 458.03 points or 0.92%. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 142.10 points, or 0.97%, to its fresh closing record of 14,789.95. It touched an all-time high of 14,868.85 during the day.

Following the bullish investor sentiment, the market capitalisa­tion of BSE-listed companies jumped by ₹12,31,140.96 crore in three sessions to a record ₹1,98,43,784.99 crore ($2.7 trillion). “Growing optimism among investors after bold and pro-growth Union Budget helped market to rebound sharply,” said Binod Modi, head strategy, Reliance Securities.

MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex closed above the historic 50,000-mark for the first time ever on Wednesday as the postBudget euphoria continued for the third straight session amid a spurt in buying by foreign funds and positive global cues. Banking, finance and pharma counters hogged the limelight, while cement and FMCG stocks succumbed to profit-taking.

After touching a record intra-day high of 50,526.39, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended at 50,255.75, up 458.03 points or 0.92%.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 142.10 points or 0.97% to its fresh closing record of 14,789.95. It touched an all-time high of 14,868.85 during the day.

IndusInd Bank topped the Sensex gainers’ chart, zooming 7.65 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, ITC, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle India and TCS were among the losers, slipping up to 0.90%.

“Domestic equities continued to remain in the grip of bulls and broader indices made fresh record highs today,” said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Optimism created after the announceme­nt of bold measures in the Union budget continued to attract investors. Favourable global cues also supported the market rally. Notably, market cap of Indian market is just fraction away from surpassing ₹200 lakh crore levels, he added. “Given sharp increase in capital expenditur­e along with a number of reforms to give impetus to investment activities, momentum in corporate earnings is expected to sustain in subsequent quarters. Further, higher fiscal stimulus in the US, persistent soft monetary policy stance of global bankers and weak dollar should continue to act as key tailwinds for FPIs flows.

“In the near term, monetary policy outcome will be a key focus area for market, which is broadly expected to remain favourable,” he noted. Sectorwise, BSE utilities, healthcare, power, metal, telecom and finance indices rose as much as 2.47%, while realty and FMCG finished with losses.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices rallied up to 1.47%. Global markets marched higher following renewed hopes for the passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill in the US.

In rest of Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with gains, while Shanghai was in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in early deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.36% higher at $58.01 per barrel. The Indian rupee ended on a flat note and settled 1 paisa higher at 72.95 (provisiona­l) against the US dollar. Stepping up their purchase of domestic shares, foreign institutio­nal investors were net buyers to the tune of ₹6,181.56 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

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