The stock indices surged ahead on Wednesday, expecting the government would come out with a fiscally prudent budget, while the rupee strengthened further against the dollar, breaching the psychological barrier of 60 to a dollar.
The rupee closed at 59.68 to a dollar compared to its previous close of 60.07. It also touched an intra-day high of 59.62. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) closed at 25,841.21 with a gain of 324.86 points or 1.27 per cent. A broader BSE 100 index also rose by1.24 per cent.
The mid-cap stocks of BSE were up by 0.78 per cent and small-cap stocks gained 1.09 per cent.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share Nifty index gained by 90.45 points or 1.18 per cent to close at 7725.15.
“It was a fantastic trading session as key indices in India ended at new life-time highs on Wednesday in anticipation of bold policies to be announced in the budget next week,” said Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL.
The Nifty shut above the 7700-mark for the first time ever, even Sensex finished above the 25,800-mark “Indices extended rally for the third consecutive day, the upswing today was so strong that all the BSE sectoral indices ended in the green.
