Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 593 points to end above the 55,000-mark for the first time on Friday, propelled by gains in index heavyweights TCS, Reliance Industries, and HDFC twins. The 30-share index rose 593.31 points or 1.08 per cent to its new all-time high of 55,437.29. It touched an intra-day record of 55,487.79. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty breached the 16,500 level, advancing 164.70 points or 1.01 per cent to its fresh closing peak of 16,529.10. It surged to a record of 16,543.60 during the day.
TCS was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by L&T, Bharti AIrtel, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Finance and NTPC were among the laggards. "Sustained rebound in IT followed by recovery in financials and consumers aided benchmark indices to defy weak cues from Asian markets and scale fresh records,” said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.
IT stocks remained in focus throughout the week and investors lapped-up quality IT names due to sustained double-digit revenue growth visibility backed by strong deal wins, he added. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended in the red. Equities in Europe were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.10 per cent to USD 71.24 per barrel.
Investors richer by over Rs 3.48 lakh crore
Following the two-day rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies climbed Rs 3,48,431.23 crore to reach its all-time high of Rs 2,40,23,280.14 crore. Enthusiastic retail participation has given momentum to the market enabling it to reach higher levels. Also, the rally has global support with the Dow and S&P 500 setting new records. "A healthy feature of today's rally is that it is led by high-quality blue-chips in performing sectors like IT, financials and telecom," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Sensex gains 5k pts since February
According to the data available on the BSE website, the Sensex has gained 7,685 points or 16.09 per cent so far this year. Further analysis of the data shows that the index gained 5,000 points since February. The index touched the crucial 50,000-mark for the first time in intra-day trade on January 21, 2020. However, it took nearly two weeks to close above the 50k on February 3.
Notably, the Sensex closed above the 51,000-level for the first time on February 8, above the 52k-mark on February 15, 53k-level on July 7. On August 4, the benchmark went past the 54,000-mark for the first time in intra-day trade and also closed above this mark. Finally, the 30-share index rallied above the 55,000-level for the first time and also closed above this mark today.
(With Agency Inputs)
