Sensex, Nifty on record breaking spree on fresh reforms

MUMBAI: Continuing its upward spring for the third straight week, both the key indices, Sensex and Nifty, register their fresh closing peak during the truncated week under review on the back of sustained capital inflows amid fresh reforms at the domestic front.

The BSE and the NSE were closed on Friday, August 29, for "Ganesh Chaturthi".

The S&P BSE benchmark Sensex resumed better and moved in a range of 26,674.38 --historical intra-day high-- and 26,314.89 before concluding the week at 26,638.69, a net rise of 219.14 points or 0.83 pc. In straight three weeks, it has zoomed by 1,309.55 points or 5.17 pc.

The broad-based 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also gained 41.15 points or 0.52 pct to log its new closing peak of 7,954.35. It had registered an intra-day high of 7,968.25.

The market also got support on hectic short-coverings as the August derivatives series concluded on Friday.

Buying in FMCG, auto, IT and pharma shares mainly kept the market tempo upbeat while realty, metal and power shares attracted profit booking, restricting the sensex rise.

Indian markets shrugged off the Supreme Court's ruling on coal block allocations, though it triggered a wave of selling, especially in metal shares.

The Court on Monday held that all coal block allocations made since 1993 till 2010 before pre-auction era during previous NDA and UPA regimes have been done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind".

As a result, metal stocks like Jindal Steel, Hindalco, Bhushan Steel, Tata Steel, Sesa Sterlite, JSW Steel, Hindustan Zinc, SAIL and NMDC closed down.