Sensex scales 59k for 1st time

Mumbai: Market benchmark Sensex scaled the 59,000-mark for the first time on Thursday as investors remained in risk-on mode following the government's policy support measures for various sectors.

Advancing for the third consecutive session, the 30-share BSE index climbed 417.96 points or 0.71 per cent to its new closing peak of 59,141.16 points. It touched an intra-day record of 59,204.29. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 110.05 points or 0.63 per cent to finish at its fresh lifetime high of 17,629.50 points. During the session, it scaled an all-time peak of 17,644.60.

"Driven by reforms, the Indian market kept raising its bar and traded to new record highs. Today's market rally was driven by strong buying in banking stocks especially in PSBs. The banking sector is expected to perform well in the coming days as the sector which failed to fairly participate in the ongoing rally due to fear over asset quality is gaining traction. Asian markets traded with cuts as the fall in Chinese property stocks pushed Asian stocks down while European markets traded with positive sentiments," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services. Investors have become richer by over Rs4.46 lakh crore in three days of market rally where the benchmark Sensex scaled the 59,000-mark for the first time on Thursday, driven by various reform measures. Helped by the record rally in equities, the market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies jumped Rs4,46,043.65 crore in three days to reach an all-time high of Rs2,60,78,355.12 crore at close of trade on Thursday.

"We are in a roaring and classical bull market where the Nifty and Sensex continue to achieve new milestones and I believe this bull run may continue for the next 2-3 years while intermediate correction or shakeout phases can't be ruled out. If we talk about the near-term outlook then bullish momentum may continue in September month where Sensex can cross the psychological mark of 60,000 but I think we may see a correction after then therefore October could be a month of correction," said Santosh Meena, head (research), Swastika Investmart Ltd.

S Ranganathan, head (research) at LKP Securities, adds: "Ahead of the operationalisation of the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), banks provided the much needed ammunition to the bulls to notch up record highs of 59K on the Sensex. The charge of the energised bulls took India's market capitalisation ahead of France as PSU banks lent the firepower."

IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 7.34 per cent, followed by ITC, SBI, Reliance Industries, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. In contrast, TCS, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech and Dr Reddy's were among the laggards, slipping up to 1.32 per cent. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets as they purchased shares worth Rs 232.84 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.

BSE Bankex was the biggest sectoral gainer, jumping 2.12 per cent, followed by energy, finance, FMCG and oil & gas indices. Metal, teck, IT and basic materials were among the losers. In the broader market, the BSE midcap and smallcap gauges rose up to 0.48 per cent. Asian equities sank after liquidity crisis at Chinese real estate major Evergrande Group fanned fears of a broader contagion.