Sensex closes above 5,000

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex on Thursday closed above the 5,000 mark for the first time in two months, driven by bank, public sector undertaking (PSU), steel and telecom shares.

The BSE Bankex was the biggest gainer on Thursday and was up 2.03 per cent, followed by the BSE PSU index, which was up 1.69 per cent. The downward revision of the transaction tax boosted buying, but concerns of a weak monsoon continued to hang heavy on the markets.

Despite the healthy quarterly earnings companies have reported so far, the Sensex ended at 5,054.29, up 1.21 per cent (60.53 points) over yesterday's close but just 13 points more than yesterday's high of 5,041.

The Sensex has gained 100 points over the last two trading days. Blue-chips were in the limelight once again, with 19 of the 30 scrips in the Sensex basket closing higher and losers outpacing gainers 10:7 on the BSE.

Brokers said with the transaction tax imbroglio out of the way, players focused on other important issues like quarterly earnings and monsoon.