Mcap of BSE-listed companies jumps to lifetime peak of Rs 462.38 trn

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies jumped to a lifetime peak of Rs 462.38 trillion on Wednesday helped by a four-day rally in benchmark indices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex settled higher by 285.94 points or 0.35 per cent at 81,741.34 -- its all-time closing high.

In the last four trading sessions, the BSE benchmark jumped 408.62 points or 0.50 per cent, making investors richer by Rs 5.45 trillion.

Investors' wealth climbed Rs 5,45,337.02 crore in the past four days to reach a record high of Rs 4,62,38,008.35 crore (USD 5.52 trillion) on Wednesday.

"Sebi's crackdown on Futures & Options trade is eminently desirable and can go a long way towards making the ongoing rally healthy and less speculative.

"The irrational exuberance of the retail investors, particularly the newbies who entered market after the Covid crash, will do more harm than good to the overall market in the long run," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Therefore, these regulatory measures are to be welcomed, he added.

Among the Sensex stocks, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki India, NTPC, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Bharti Airtel, ITC and Tech Mahindra were the major gainers.

Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Infosys, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank were the laggards.

At the market close, the BSE smallcap gauge fell 0.14 per cent to the broader market. However, BSE MidCap gauge jumped 0.86 per cent. During the day, both the indices hit their all-time high level.

Among the indices, Utilities surged 1.57 per cent, Power by 1.46 per cent, Metal by 1.12 per cent, Healthcare by 0.91 per cent and Commodities by 0.74 per cent.

Energy, Telecommunication and Realty were the laggards.

As many as 2,051 stocks advanced, while 1,897 declined and 88 remained unchanged.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,462.36 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.