| The stock markets opened the new year with a bang. On the first trading day of 2005, the market capitalisation of stocks traded on the Indian bourses hit a historic high of Rs 17,14,000 crore or $394.38 billion on Monday, while the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex spurted 1.16 per cent to an all-time high of 6,679.20, led by foreign institutional investors buying telecom and energy stocks in a big way. | |
| The value of shares on the Indian bourses is now equivalent to 69 per cent of India's gross domestic product, estimated at around Rs 25,00,000 crore. Incidentally, the buoyant market has added over Rs 6,00,000 core in capitalisation since May 17, 2004, when share prices had crashed. | |
| The Sensex gained 76.51 points on Monday to close at 6,679.20. Reliance Energy was the biggest gainer in the 30-scrip Sensex basket, gaining as much as 7.14 per cent to close at Rs 561.85. Bharti Tele-Ventures continued its dream run, gaining 5.68 per cent on Monday to Rs 227.85. | |
| Automobile stocks rallied on soaring December shipments, while metal shares climbed on news of price increases by top companies. | |
| Hero Honda Motors rose 5.1 per cent to Rs 600.40 after the company said its December shipments jumped by 44 per cent from a year ago to 230,751 units. | |
| Bajaj Auto gained 1.01 per cent to close at Rs 1,142.85 after its December motorcycle shipments doubled from the previous year's figures. Maruti Udyog rose 1.8 per cent to close at Rs 469.40 after its December vehicle sales climbed 18 per cent from a year earlier. | |
| Aluminium stocks firmed after the top two domestic producers raised prices by 2 per cent, or Rs 2,000 per tonne, from January 1. | |
| Reliance group shares were firmer even after a squabble within the controlling family took another turn as Anil Ambani resigned from group company, IPCL. | |
| Reliance Industries gained 1.7 per cent to Rs 543.10 and IPCL jumped 5.2 per cent to close at Rs 191.70. Reliance Energy closed, up 7.14 per cent to Rs 561.85. | |
| The market capitalisation "" the number of shares of a company multiplied by the market value of the share on a particular day "" of the 30 companies in the Sensex basket reached an all-time high of Rs 7,46,000 crore. | |
| In April 1996, the Sensex's capitalisation first crossed the Rs 1,00,000 crore mark. But by June 1997, the market capitalisation of Sensex stocks had doubled to Rs 2,00,000 crore. | |
| The shares of companies in the top five industries, namely, information technology, refineries, banks, pharmaceuticals and power, continued to be the major contributors in this drive upwards. | |
| They account for over 50 per cent of the total market capitalisation. The shares of infotech and refinery companies account for 27.2 per cent, banks 9.9 per cent, pharmaceuticals 6.8 per cent and power 6.3 per cent of the market capitalisation. | |
| The top 10 stocks in the market capitalisation rankings account for 35.6 per cent of the total, with ONGC having the largest share at 6.9 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries (4.4 per cent), National Thermal Power Corporation (4.3 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (3.8 per cent) and Indian Oil (3.5 per cent). | |
| The Sensex stocks remained the major market capitalisation drivers, accounting for 45 per cent of the total change in capitalisation. In 1996, Sensex stocks accounted for around 18 per cent of the total market cap. | |
| The historic level of the market capitalisation has been fuelled by a series of new share issues in the current financial year. | |
| Big initial public offers (IPOs) by companies like Tata Consultancy Services and National Thermnal Power Corporation alone have added Rs 137,981 crore to market capitalisation, while IPOs by 13 other companies weighed in with Rs 2,085 crore.
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