Sensex gets past 15K

Sensex gets past 15K
Business Standard, Money & Markets, Section II, Page 1

Press Trust of India

IT index the best performer among sectoral indices

Powered by the IT sector and good corporate results from within the country and the US, the BSE Sensex today added 446 points to close above 15,000 for the first time in a month.

A firm opening at European and Asian stock markets and the upgrade of Indian stocks by leading international lenders further boosted trading sentiment and the 30-share Sensex climbed 446.09 points, or 3.03 per cent, to 15,191.01.

The 50-share Nifty rose 127.30 points, or 2.91 per cent, to 4,502.25.20. The Nifty regained 4,500 points almost after a month. The 13-share BSE IT index was the best performer among sectoral indices with a rise of 254.33 points, or 7.26 per cent, to 3,759.61 points, after touching an intra-day high of 3,899.10 points. The current rally, which started last week, has taken markets up 9.2 per cent. Unicon Financial Chief Executive G Nagpal said, “Investors are optimistic and think that the worst is behind us. Our markets moved up on strong global cues. Probably a lot of money is playing around the market and is waiting to be invested.”

The stocks’ rating was raised to “equal-weight” from “underweight” at Morgan Stanley, which said uncertainty over earnings in the current financial year had been reduced.

Global trading sentiment remained bullsh as MSCI’s Asia Pacific, excluding Japan Index, added 2.3 per cent to 340.79, its highest close since September 26.

US housing sales unexpectedly rose, increasing optimism that the world’s largest economy is strengthening.