Sensex crosses 20,000

The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex crosses 20,000 points, first time since January 2008, a 32-month high in the opening session today.



Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex shot up by over 135 points to regain the magical 20,000-level in the opening trade today for the first time since January 17, 2008, on spurt in buying of oil and gas, capital goods and banking sector stocks.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange surged by 135.42 points to 20,041.52 in the opening trade, for the first time since January 17, 2008. All the sectoral indices were trading with gains up to 1.30 per cent.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange also crossed the crucial 6,000 points to trade 36.40 points higher at 6,016.85 points.

Both indices have regained these levels after almost 32 months. Analysts said sustained inflows of overseas funds, bolstered by fast expanding economy, helped indices to touch the 32-month high.

PREOPEN:Indian shares seen testing 20,000 since Jan 2008

India's main stock index could test 20,000 on Tuesday for the first time since January 2008, bolstered by rising foreign investor interest in the country's fast-expanding economy.



The 30-share BSE index ended up 1.6 percent at 19,906.10 points on Monday, after hitting 19,927.30. It has risen 10.8 percent this month on the back of foreign fund inflows of nearly $3 billion.

Outsourcers will be watched after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said late on Monday India was worried that recent comments by U.S. President Barack Obama could lead to increased protectionism and would raise the issue when G20 leaders meet in South Korea.

The MSCI's measure of Asian markets other than Japan was barely changed at 0251 GMT, while Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.4 percent.

The Nifty India stock futures in Singapore were up 0.7 percent.

STOCKS TO WATCH

* EIH Ltd after the hotel chain said it would hold a meeting of its board of directors on Thursday to consider issue of shares on rights basis.

* Resurgere Mines after the company said its board had planned to meet on Saturday to consider and approve raising funds via equity or debt.

* Navin Fluorine International after the company said it would consider buyback on Friday.




FACTORS TO WATCH

* India rupee retreats from 3-month peak on import demand

* Indian bonds, OIS steady; supply, data key

* FOREX-Aussie dollar rises briefly after RBA minutes

* NYMEX-Crude retreats ahead of Fed meeting

* Stocks rise on S&P 500 rally. dollar slips

* US market ends more than 1 pct higher, S&P clears levels

Source: Indian Express

Sensex, rupee on a roll

Mumbai: Sensex regained the crucial 19,000-level in early trade on Monday, adding 287 points on fund-based buying driven by a firming global trend. The Nifty gained 83.60 points. Both the indices regained these levels after almost 32 months.




The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange surged by 287.69 points to 19,087.35 in opening trade. It had risen by 132.95 points in the previous session.

The buoyant investor sentiment also propelled the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty past the 5,700-mark. The Nifty gained 83.60 points to 5723.65 in early trade today.

Banking stocks continue to shine Monday morning with Union Bank leading the rally. The stock has surged over 5% to Rs 374. SBI has jumped 4.2% to Rs 3,110.

The Sensex has continued to hold gains on the back of the upsurge in banking stocks. The index is now up 288 points at 19,088. Nifty is up 85 points at 5,725.

BSE mid and small-cap indices have under-performed the broader index. The mid-cap index has jumped 1% to 8,126 while the small-cap index has advanced 0.7% to 10,319.

The IIP numbers have also chered investors. India's industry began the second quarter on a strong footing, clocking 13.8% growth in July. The growth rate -- the highest in two months -- exceeded market expectations of moderation to 7.8%. The growth was driven by a strong showing by the manufacturing sector, particularly the capital goods segment.



ICICI Bank has rallied 3.5% to Rs 1,087. HDFC Bank, however, is up just 1% at Rs 2,262. Other banking gainers include Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Axis Bank.

Among Sensex stocks, HDFC has added 3% to Rs 649. Reliance Infrastructure and Tata Steel have added 2% each.

SCC, Reliance, Hindalco, ONGC and Larsen & Toubro are the other top gainers.

BSE market breadth is positive. Out of 2,862 stocks traded, 1,837 have advanced while 937 have declined.

Meanwhile, the rupee climbed to its highest in a month on Monday after robust factory output, and buoyed by a return in risk taking globally after strong data in the United States and China.



In the morning, the partially convertible rupee was at 46.29/30 per dollar, after touching 46.2650, its highest since Aug. 10 and stronger than the close of 46.47/48 last week.

"There is some dollar selling seen after the strong IIP data. We could see a move towards 46 levels this week, but then it should start weakening again from there," said Ashtosh Raina, head of foreign exchange trading at HDFC Bank.

India's industrial output accelerated much faster than expected in July on surging capital goods production, strengthening the case for further monetary tightening by the central bank to tame near double-digit inflation.

Dealers said gains in the euro and other Asian peers also boosted sentiment for the rupee.

Almost all Asian currencies were stronger compared to the dollar. The index of the dollar against six majors was down 0.5 per cent.



The euro surged on Monday as positive market sentiment following upbeat Chinese data and a lack of surprises from new banking rules sent it nearly 1 per cent up on the dollar.

The BSE Sensex were trading up 1.5 per cent, taking cues from the better-than-expected jump in factory output and strong Asian markets.

Foreign fund flows into local shares are a key determinant of the rupee's fortunes. So far this year, foreigners have bought shares worth more than $13.5 billion, in addition to last year's record $17.5 billion purchases.

One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were at 46.44, weaker than the onshore spot rate.

"With US data continuing to be strong, we expect risk appetite to be positive this week. We expect the INR to play catch up with its regional peers, with USD/INR trading in a range of 46.10-46.70, with a downside bias," economists at Barclays Capital wrote in a note.

They expects the Reserve Bank of India to hike the repo and reverse repo rates by 25 basis points each at the central bank's policy review on Thursday

For details on stock movement see: msn.bankbazaar.com

Source: Business Standard and PTI
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