Markets fly to new heights after India's World Bank leap

India leapfrogging on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings took stocks to dizzying heights today as the Nifty closed above 10,400 for the first time and the Sensex shot up 387 points to a record.
India improved its rank considerably as it went up 30 notches to the 100th place in the World Bank report, which was released yesterday.
Eight core sectors provided more tailwind, which grew at a six-month high of 5.2 per cent in September. Positive leads from global markets came as a catalyst.
That apart, better-than-estimated earnings by some more companies kept the risk-on sentiment alive.

The buying interest was such that the broader 50-issue Nifty breached the 10,450-level intra-day for the first time. It closed at 10,440.50, a fresh life high, up 105.20 points -- 1.02 per cent, dismantling its previous record of 10,363.65 reached on October 30.
The beginning of the 30-share BSE index was full of promise as the Sensex hit a new all-time intra-day high of 33,651.52. In the end, it gave in to some profit taking activity and settled at a new closing peak of 33,600.27, up 387.14 points, or 1.17 per cent.

In the process, the barometer went past its previous closing record of 33,266.16, touched on October 30.

Yesterday, the gauge had come off record by losing 53.03 points.
"India's historic climb on World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings and buoyancy in global peers provided tailwind to the domestic indices... Strength in the rupee also amplified the sharp surge supported by strong sentiment being played around PSU banks, realty, metal and FMCG sectors," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
"While soft PMI numbers have not dulled the sentiment as yet, activities of FIIs and the dollar's trajectory would be in focus with US tax reforms on the horizon," he added.
The steep rally led to a big jump in investor wealth measured in terms of market capitalisation of BSE listed companies, which stood at Rs 145 lakh crore, up by Rs 1.08 lakh crore.

Reflecting the market's aggressive form, most sectoral indices ended in the green.
Much of the charge came from buying in banking, realty, metal, FMCG and PSU counters. Traders said uninterrupted funds inflows into equities was at work too.
Bharti Airtel led the gainers' pack, jumping over 8 per cent, even as the company logged a drop in earnings for July- September.
SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Ltd and Axis Bank lent a hand, rising by up to 4.58 per cent.
Asian and European markets saw a firming trend ahead of the US Federal Reserve decision on interest rate hike.
DIIs dug in by purchasing shares to the tune of Rs 596.92 crore. But foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned their back net selling shares worth Rs 531.82 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

In sectoral play, telecom rallied the most by surging 3.93 per cent, followed by realty, bank and metal.
Broader markets ruled high too, with the small-cap index rising 0.55 per cent and mid-cap 0.35 per cent.