Sensex on new record high; bank, capital goods rise

Mumbai, March 7 :

A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets soared to a new high of 21,960.89 points Friday, led by strong buying support from foreign funds.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex (sensitive index) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) hit the new record high surpassing its previous high of 21,525.14 points reached Thursday.

The 30-scrip benchmark index, which opened in the positive at 21,539.44 points, ended the day at 21,919.79 points, up 405.92 percent, or 1.89 points, from its previous day close at 21,513.87 points.

The index touched a high of 21,960.89 points and low of 21,539.44 points in the intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 1.96 percent or 125.50 points higher at 6,526.65 points.

“Pre-election rally and consistent flow of foreign money drove Sensex near the 22,000-level. Industrials, interest rate sensitives and commodity stocks were outperformers,” said Sanjeev Zarbade of Kotak Securities.

“Going ahead, sustained FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) flows, stable currency, improving macroeconomic data, and probability of a stable government post-elections could take markets higher. At the same time, adverse geopolitical developments could potentially prick this rally.”

Strong buying support was observed in bank, capital goods, oil and gas, metal and automobile stocks.

The S&P BSE Bank index was up 689.10 points, followed by capital goods index which was up 437.14 points, oil and gas index up 319.99 points, metal index rose 152.35 points and automobile index was up 136.52 points.

However, heavy selling pressure was seen in healthcare, information technology (IT), technology, entertainment and media (TECk) index.

The S&P BSE healthcare index was down 214.28 points, IT index was lower by 191.57 points and TECk declined by 60.91 points.

Prominent Sensex gainers were: BHEL, up 6.31 percent at Rs.183.70; ICICI Bank, up 5.97 percent at Rs.1,201.30; Axis Bank, up 5.92 percent at Rs.1,406.90; Reliance Industries, up 5.72 percent at Rs.869.00; and Bharti Airtel, up 5.46 percent at Rs.301.40.

Only eight of the 30 Sensex scrips closed in the red. These included DrReddys Lab, down 3.59 percent at Rs.2,726.25; Wipro, down 3.25 percent at Rs.565.55; Infosys, down 2.47 percent at Rs.3,740.95; Sun Pharma, down 1.43 points at Rs.612.15; and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), down 0.72 percent at Rs.2,225.10.

(IANS)