Sensex breaches 24,000 mark in intra-trade

Exit poll prediction of NDA win cheers mkt

Key benchmark indices on Tuesday extended recent strong gains after exit polls the previous evening signalled that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would win a majority in the Lok Sabha elections.

Market breadth, indicating overall health of the market was positive. So much so, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of BSE on Tuesday crossed the 24,000-point mark for the first time in its history, recording the third straight high. At 24,068.94 points, the Sensex was at its highest mark so far, surpassing the previous record of 23,573 points hit on Monday. The Sensex touched a high of 24,068.94 points and low of 23,729.25 points intra-day.

With this, domestic equities gained for the fourth day in a row on Tuesday. The Sensex has risen 1,547.33 points or 6.93 per cent in four trading days from its recent low of 22,323.90 on May 7. It has gained 1,453.43 points or 6.48 per cent so far this month (till May 13, 2014). 

Market sentiment was also boosted by data showing that foreign funds made substantial purchases of Indian stocks on Monday as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,214.80 crore from the secondary markets on Monday, as per initial Sebi data.

The rally was led by the capital goods, oil and gas, IT, consumer durables and technology, entertainment and media (TECK) sectors. The BSE capital goods index gained 324.43 points, oil and gas index surged 295.35 points, the IT index rose 224.23 points, consumer durables index rose 206.24 points, and TECK index moved up 108.10 points. However, healthcare index fell 47.59 points.

Meanwhile, the wider 50-scrip CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too closed at a record high after surging 94.50 points or 1.35 per cent and closed at 7,108.75 points.

Prominent gainers in the day were Bharat Heavy Electricals, up 10.25 per cent at Rs 218.80; Hero MotoCorp, up 5.39 percent at Rs 2,428.85; ONGC, up 3.81 per cent at Rs 372.05; Tata Power, up 3.62 per cent at Rs 84.55; and Wipro, up 3.36 per cent at Rs.528.80.  

The losers included Dr Reddy's Lab, down 3.99 per cent at Rs 2,610.70; Tata Motors, down 0.94 per cent at Rs 440.80; Hindalco Inds, down 0.84 per cent at Rs 142.30; HDFC Bank, 0.63 per cent at Rs 787; and Sun Pharma, 0.47 per cent at Rs 610.20.