Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday surged past the 17,000-points level for the first time in 16 months in early morning trading on the back of sustained buying by foreign funds in heavy-weight stocks in anticipation of strong quarterly earnings.
The Sensex shot up by 175.88 points, or 1.1 per cent to 17,028.79 points at 1100 hrs, a level last seen on May 23, 2008. The barometer ended 159.91 points higher on Tuesday.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also gathered 43.90 points at 5,050.75.
Brokers said continued buying by foreign funds on the domestic bourses on expectations of strong quarterly earnings mainly bolstered the trading sentiments, helping Sensex to go past the 17,000—mark.
The rally was backed by a steep rise in stocks of banking, oil and gas, IT and metal segments.
