Equities surged on Thursday as . Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled that the U.S. may not rollback the stimulus programme as expected earlier, resulting in shares rising globally and the dollar losing against major currencies. “The markets witnessed a gap up opening on the positive global cues. The international markets closed higher on the news that the U.S. Federal Reserve may continue its stimulus plan for some more time,” said Alex Mathews, Head Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) shot up by 381.94 points as metals surged by 3 per cent followed by banks by 2.48 per cent, realty 2.44 per cent, capital goods 1.84 per cent, oil & gas 1.80 per cent and PSUs 1.77 per cent.
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On the National Stock Exchange (NSE) the 50-share Nifty closed up at 5935.10, clocking a gain of 118.40 points.
“The outlook for the Nifty is positive and it is likely to test 5985 and 6000 in the short term. It has support at 5875 and 5833,” Mr. Mathews added.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Wednesday, who bought shares worth Rs. 75.46 crore as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
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Weak rupee
Meanwhile, the rupee closed weaker on Thursday at 59.67/68 per dollar compared to its previous close of 59.66/67. The rupee rose to a high of 59.32 in the earlier session of the trade. However it climbed down following demand for dollar from importers.