History at 60: Sensex conquers Mount 60,000 as investors keep the faith

The BSE Sensex made history on Friday by reaching the 60,000-mark for the first time ever as investors continued to accumulate banking, finance and auto stocks despite lacklustre global cues and concerns over frothy valuations.

The 30-share benchmark rose 163.11 points or 0.27 per cent to its lifetime closing high of 60,048.47. Intra-day, it touched an all-time peak of 60,333.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 30.25 points or 0.17 per cent to close at a record 17,853.20. It soared to a lifetime high of 17,947.65 during the day.

It took a little over 31 years for the Sensex to traverse from 1,000 points to the historic 60,000 level.

Read | Rupee slips 4 paise to close at 73.68 against US dollar

The benchmark index was at 1,000 points back on July 25, 1990 and took nearly 25 years before it touched the 30,000 level on March 4, 2015.

The Sensex has climbed from the 30,000 level to 60,000 in a little over six years, reflecting the overall bullishness in the market.

The last 10,000 points have come at a record pace, with the Sensex reaching the 50,000-level only in January this year.

"Sensex reaching 60,000 today is an indicator of India's growth potential, as well as the way India is emerging as a world leader during Covid period in addition to worldwide monetary expansion and relaxed fiscal policies adopted by world powers," said Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD and CEO, BSE.

Also Read | Journey of Sensex: From 1,000 to 60,000 in over 31 years

Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack on Friday, spurting 3.72 per cent, followed by M&M, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Maruti and Infosys.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, SBI, Axis Bank, ITC, HUL, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards, shedding up to 3.60 per cent.

"Market valuations are high but on the flip side the underlying economic growth is favourable. We would suggest not to be under-invested in equity.

"One can rebalance portfolios and revert to long term strategic allocation to large caps by exiting laggards and trimming the tail in mid and small caps, many of which may be overvalued right now," said Nimish Shah, Chief Investment Officer - Listed Investments, Waterfield Advisors.

Sectorally, BSE telecom, realty, teck, IT and auto indices rallied up to 2.77 per cent, while metal, healthcare, basic materials and FMCG fell as much as 2.31 per cent.

Also Read | Sensex hits 60,000 in just eight months after scaling 50,000 in January

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices underperformed the benchmarks, shedding up to 1.16 per cent.

During the week, the Sensex rallied 1,032.58 points or 1.74 per cent, while the Nifty surged 268.05 points or 1.52 per cent.

"Even at 60k our advice for investors is to buy in select stocks (strong companies in terms of managing and growing companies) with a medium to long term view.

"Most of the time in the market it is proved that the level of the index is just a number and the actual market index is very different from the numbers. However, the buying is advisable in tranches/parts, do not lock your entire funds at current levels," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

Global markets were on a weak footing on Friday on concerns over China Evergrande group after the real estate giant missed bond interest payments.

In Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong ended with losses, while Tokyo was positive.

Equities in Europe were also trading on a negative note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.23 per cent to $77.43 per barrel.

The Indian rupee slipped 4 paise to close at 73.68 against the US dollar on Friday, following weaker Asian peers against the American currency.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 357.93 crore, as per exchange data.

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