The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Thursday, ended at record high as the state-run banks gained smartly on bourses. The hope that the unwinding of the stimulus measures in the U.S. would be delayed also boosted the sentiment in domestic markets.
The Sensex rose to an intra-day high of 21205.44 compared to the all-time high of 21206.77 recorded in January 2008. The bench-mark index gained by130.55 points to close at 21164.52.
A broader 50-share NSE Nifty closed with a gain of 47.45 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 6299.15.
“It was a sensational trading session, which ended just few points away from all time highs. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty notched up further gains amid strong roll-overs witnessed in the banking, metals, financials and auto stocks,” said Amar Ambani, Head of Research, India Infoline.
“Market sentiment got a boost after Bank of India reported a rise of 2.05 times in net profit on a year-on-year basis for the quarter ended September 30, 2013,” said Mr. Ambani, adding, “the up-move was so strong that barring the BSE Healthcare index, all the other BSE sectoral indices ended in the positive terrain.”
Rupee falls 27 paise
The rupee, on Wednesday, fell 27 paise to 61.50 against the dollar on heavy month-end demand from importers. for the U.S. currency. The Indian currency opened lower at 61.37 a dollar at the inter-bank foreign exchange market against the previous close of 61.23 and touched the day’s high of 61.29. Later, it dropped to 61.56 before settling at 61.50, a fall of 27 paise.
