Samvat 2067 has started on a high. With the Sensex recording an all-time closing high on the Thursday, it was the turn of Nifty to rewrite the history books. The NSE benchmark did not disappoint, ending the session at 6,312, up 30 points, and the Sensex shutting shop above the 21k mark for the first time in its history at 21,004, up 111 points. The midcap index ended at 8,678, higher by 75 points and the smallcap index ended at 11,044, up 164 points.
The indices rode on the previous day's momentum and the positive cues from the global front to spurt at opening bell, with the BSE Sensex moving past the psychological 21,000 mark and Nifty surging past the psychological 6,300 level at the onset of the special 45-minute Muhurat trading session that marked the beginning of the Samvat 2067. The bourses did slip from their intra-day highs eventually, but the momentum triggered by the gap-up opening was still good enough for the Nifty to have an all-time closing high and the BSE benchmark to consolidate its position above the coveted mark.
In what was a Diwali bonanza of sorts for the investors, the Sensex had ended at an all-time closing high of 20,893 and the Nifty had also come within striking distance of its own landmark in the previous trading session. And on the global front, US stocks had closed at two-year highs overnight, a day after the Federal Reserve unveiled a plan to boost the economy. The Dow ended up 219.71 points or 1.96% at 11,434 and the Nasdaq was up 37 points at 2,577. Asian stocks had also advanced in wake of the overnight rally on Wall Street, with the key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan rising up to 2% each. And European markets reversed early losses to rise around half a percent each in mid-day trading activity.
The leading gainers on the Sensex were Jaiprakash Associates (stronger by 4.3% at Rs 133), Hindalco (higher by 2.7% at Rs 232) and M&M (up 1.6% at Rs 790). And index heavyweight RIL hardened by 0.2% at Rs 1106. And the buying interest in Coal India showed no signs of abating, with the world's largest coal maker adding another 2% to its blockbuster gains on listing day to end the day at Rs 349.
The Sensex heavyweights to buck the upbeat mood included Jindal Steel (weakened by 0.4% at Rs 715), HDFC Bank (shed 0.4% at Rs 2375) and Tata Power (lost 0.3% at Rs 1390).
The market breadth is positive. Out of 2887 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1773 advancing stocks as against 947 declines.