Sensex touches new record above 25,000 on BJP's election win

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex rose as much as 6.1 percent to a record high on Friday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies swept the general elections, although shares gave up a big chunk of the gains towards the close as investors booked profits.

The benchmark BSE Sensex surged to as high as 25,375.63, before ending the day at 24,121.74, up 0.9 percent. The broader Nifty jumped as much as 6.2 percent to a record high of 7,563.50, before closing 1.12 percent higher at 7,203.

The BSE Sensex rose 4.9 percent for the week, while the Nifty marked a weekly gain of 5 percent, their biggest weekly gains since the week ended December 2, 2011.

 

Domestic-focused shares led the gainers: ICICI Bank Ltd soared 5 percent while Larsen & Toubro Ltd gained 3.6 percent, reflecting hopes that the BJP is best placed to revive an economy growing at its slowest in a decade.

However, exporters fell as the rupee rose to a eleven-month high. Wipro fell 2.7 percent while Dr. Reddy's Laboratories slumped 3 percent.

(Editing by Sunil Nair)