Sensex surges for 6th day

The Sensex climbed for the sixth consecutive day - its longest winning streak this year - buoyed by a better-than-expected economic growth, inflation numbers, and positive cues from other Asian markets.

The inflation figure of 3.94 per cent, for the week ended August 18, was at 15-month low, while the GDP figure of 9.3 per cent for the first quarter of this year showed that the India's growth story was intact, inducing fresh buying by investors.

The benchmark Sensex advanced 1.20 per cent, or 181.36 points, to close at 15,303.10. It was just 747 points away from its all-time high of 15,868 points, which it touched in July last month. During the week, the Sensex gained over 840 points.

On Friday, the broader S&P CNX Nifty gained 1 per cent, or 44.30 points, to 4,456.60. India's largest private sector company Reliance Industries touched its all time high price of Rs 1,969.90 a share. The stock ended the day at Rs 1,959.50, up 2.73 per cent from yesterday.

The top gainers on the Sensex included Mahindra & Mahindra (up 5.02 per cent at Rs 709.05), Tata Steel (up 4.92 per cent at Rs 689.70), NTPC (up 4.27 per cent at Rs 173.30) and Maruti Udyog (up 4.13 per cent at Rs 868.20).

The Metal Index was the top gainer among BSE's sectoral indices. It was up by 2.38 per cent, followed by the BSE Oil & Gas Index (up 2.30 per cent) and the BSE Auto Index (up 2.12 per cent).

Vikas Khemani, co-head of institutional equity at Edelweiss Securities, is of the view that even though the markets have bounced back, there may not be one sided movement upwards from here on. "Still a lot depends on the global scenario. In India if inflation remains stable, we may not see further interest rate hikes by banks," he said.

Analysts said the compromise formula on the nuclear deal agreed upon last evening by the ruling UPA and its ally, the CPM-led Left Front, also had a positive impact on the market sentiment. The overall market breadth looked positive as 59.16 per cent, or 1,640 shares ended higher from yesterday while 38.23 per cent or 1,060 shares declined.

The Asian markets also closed for the week at a three-week high. Japan's Nikkei ended higher.