The markets had a landmark session of trade, with the Sensex surpassing the much anticipated 20k mark and the Nifty scaling the 6000 level for the first time since January 2008. The BSE benchmark ended at 20,001, higher by 95 points and the Nifty ended at 6009, up 28 points, with the IT pivotals leading the way.
The benchmark indices raced past the psychological levels at the very onset of trade thanks to the force of momentum and a favourable set of cues from the global front. The Sensex had moved up more than 300 points in the previous trading session, with as many as four of the four of the thirteen sectoral indices reaching all-time highs. Moreover, Wall Street had jumped on Monday, with the Dow adding 1.3% to 10,754 and Nasdaq gaining 1.7% to 2,356, and the Asian markets trading in a steady manner. A bout of selling pressure did drag the indices below the psychological levels and also momentarily into the red in mid-morning trades, but a bounceback towards close ensured that the bourses closed above the important marks.
Asian markets had a cautiously optimistic closing and Europe clawed back into the green ahead of the Fed meet scheduled later in the day. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep monetary policy unchanged and market players are watching for any hints that the regulator is shifting from targeting low interest rates to focussing on its own balance sheet. And trading in US index futures indicate that the Dow could rise 18 points at the opening bell on Tuesday
There was a discordant note though. On a day when the benchmark indices raced past important levels, thanks to the continuing wave of liquity, heavyweight sectoral indices such as banking, oil and metals ended in the red. And the larger market space continued to lay low, with the midcap index shedding 0.9% at 8078 and the smallcap index losing 1.3% at 10,176. And the market breath was negative; out of 3113 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 883 advancing stocks as against 2118 declines.
The day clearly belonged to the IT pack. TCS ended at Rs 952, stronger by 4.6%, on the BSE. Wipro ended at Rs 435, higher by 3.4% and Infosys ended at Rs 3058, up 1.7%. Tata Power and Tata Motors were the other major gainers.
ITC succumbed to profit-booking after the gains registered in the recent past. The FMCG major ended at Rs 172, weaker by 2.1%, to emerge as the top loser on the BSE. Jaiprakash Associates shed 1.3% at Rs 123 and DLF lost 1.3% at Rs 358. And index heavyweight RIL edged lower by 0.6% at Rs 1032.
The market breath was negative; Out of 3113 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 883 advancing stocks as against 2118 declines.
