The benchmark Sensex on Thursday closed above the 17,000-point mark for the first time, while the Nifty crossed the 5,000 level driven by unabated FII inflows as well as strong global cues.
The rally was largely confined to frontline counters as the derivatives series registered a marketwide rollover of over 70 per cent at the concluding day of September contract.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share Sensex on Thursday opened firm at 17,059.61 from Wednesday’s close of 16,921.39 and later touched an all-time intra-day high of 17,188.40, before ending the day at 17,150.56 with a gain of 229.17 points or1.35 per cent. The Nifty also closed at a life-time high of 5,000.55, a net rise of 60.05 points or 1.22 per cent over previous close of 4,940.50.
Asian indices gained 1.0 to 2.5 per cent at close. Tata Steel, Infosys, Satyam Computer, TCS, Wipro, SBI, BHEL, HDFC Bank, ONGC and REL were the prominent gainers.
