Sensex closes atop Mt 50K as market rides on Budget euphoria

NEW DELHI: Banks and financials were in heavy demand on Wednesday as bulls continued to bludgeon their way past bears taking benchmark indices to fresh record highs, driven by prospects of better earnings growth from India Inc.

The Union Budget has fuelled the latest leg of the rally as inventors believe higher spending by the government will eventually lead to growth in corporate earnings. Positive global cues also helped market sentiment.

The 30-share pack Sensex jumped 458.03 points or 0.92 per cent to close at 50,255.75. The index ended above the 50,000 mark for the first time ever. Its broader peer NSE Nifty advanced 142.10 points or 0.97 per cent to 14,789.95.


"The market has got a renewed focus on segments which are likely to be mostly benefited by a sustainable revamp in the domestic economy. The broader market is outrunning the benchmark with pharma, infra and PSU banks as the imminent leaders. Positive quarterly earnings is leading to a large upgrade in earnings forecast, which is also acting as a key tailwind in the rally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Investors grew richer by Rs 1.84 lakh crore as the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 198.45 lakh crore.

Market at a glance:

• IndusInd Bank top Nifty gainer, jumps 7% to close above Rs 1,000
• India VIX rises 2%, reflecting nervousness in market
• FMCG, Realty indices end in the red; Pharma top sectoral gainer
• HDFC rises 2% after Q3 show; analysts see up to 24% upside
• IPO watch: Brookfield REIT subscribed 9% so far on Day 1

Among the bluechip stocks, IndusInd Bank was the top gainer, rising 7.29 per cent. Power Grid, Divi’s Labs, Coal India, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla, Hero MotoCorp, Indian Oil and NTPC were other gainers.

Shree Cement was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 1.64 per cent. UPL, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki, Grasim Industries, ITC, Nestle India and Kotak Mahindra Bank were others that ended in the red.

Broader market indices also gained but underperformed their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap rose 1.22 per cent and Nifty Midcap added 1.45 per cent. Nifty 500 -- the broadest index on NSE -- advanced 1 per cent.

Ceat, Granules India, Deepak Nitrite, PI Industries, Ipca Labs and Shriram Transport Finance were top gainers from the mid- and small-cap indices, rising in the range of 7-10 per cent.

Future Retail, Dhani Services, Bharat Forge, Balrampur Chini Mills, PVR and KEI International were major losers from the broader market space, falling in the range of 2-5 per cent.

Nifty Realty and Nifty FMCG ended in the red. Nifty Pharma was the top gainer, up 2.79 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Financial Service and Nifty Bank were other major gainers.

Market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,783 stocks ended in the green, while 1,202 scrips settled with cuts. As many as 270 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 55 counters hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 360 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 290 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading with gains at the last count. London-based FTSE was up 0.35 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt were up 0.29 per cent and 0.63 per cent, respectivelyt. In Asia, barring Thailand and China, which slipped 0.30 per cent and 0.46 per cent, respectively, all markets closed with gains.