Sensex hits 17k at close; Nifty breaches 5,050

Yet another day for market to close buoyant, with Sensex hitting 17,000 mark supported by heavyweights- Jaiprakash Associates, Tata Power and Reliance Industries. Broader markets too rallied. Oil & gas and realty stocks were in the limelight followed by power, FMCG and banking stocks.

After a flat start amid positive Asian shares, Sensex traded higher and was range bound. Whereas Nifty breached the crucial mark of 5,050 on buying interest by funds. During the fag end of the day, the 30-share index Sensex touched the psychological 17,000 mark. The broad based Nifty gained the most in a month. Both Sensex and Nifty traded above 1-month high. Finally, it wrapped the day on an optimistic note after touching a peak high of 17,012.61.

On global front, European stocks open in red as investors awaited details of Greece`s additional budget deficit reduction plans. US index futures fluctuated. On the other hand, Asian stocks rose, erasing the MSCI Asia Pacific Index`s 2010 loss, on speculation Greek austerity measures will bolster confidence in the global recovery.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex gained 227.45 or 1.36% at 17,000.01 with 24 components posting rise. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty climbed by 71.10 or 1.42% at 5,088.10 with 39 components registering rise.

Sensex Movers

Reliance Industries contributed rise of 85.77 points in the Sensex. It was followed by ICICI Bank (16.53 points), Housing Development Finance Corporation (15.46 points), HDFC Bank (15.41 points) and Tata Power Company (14.08 points).

However, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation contributed fall of 7.57 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Larsen & Toubro (4.56 points), Maruti Suzuki India (2.41 points), Tata Steel (0.4 points) and Wipro (0.35 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Jaiprakash Associates (6.14%), Tata Power Company (5.08%), Reliance Industries (3.90%), NTPC (2.27%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.11%), and DLF (2.05%).

On the other hand, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (1.15%), Maruti Suzuki India (0.83%), Larsen & Toubro (0.39%), ACC (0.21%), Wipro (0.13%), and Tata Steel (0.08%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

Allcargo Global Logistics (1.81%), A I A Engineering (1.53%), Andrew Yule and Company (1.18%), Amtek Auto (0.67%) and Alfa-Laval (India) (0.56%).

Sectors in Limelight

The Oil & Gas index was at 9,825.93, up by 219.06 points or by 2.28%. The major gainers were G A I L (India) (2.04%), Essar Oil (1.09%), Cairn India (0.63%), Aban Offshore (0.37%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (0.01%).

The Realty index was at 3,316.83, up by 70.09 points or by 2.16%. The major gainers were Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (4.13%), Indiabulls Real Estate (3.5%), D L F (2.05%), Ackruti City (0.96%) and Anant Raj Industries (0.53%).

The Power index was at 3,073.30, up by 58.25 points or by 1.93%. The major gainers were G M R Infrastructure (5.51%), A B B (1.75%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (1.02%), Reliance Infrastructure (0.94%) and Adani Power (0.43%).

The FMCG index was at 2,759.29, up by 40.49 points or by 1.49%. The major gainers were Britannia Industries (2.45%), Hindustan Unilever (1.69%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (0.9%), Dabur India (0.71%) and Godrej Consumer Products (0.37%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was positive with 1,958 advances against 895 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

ARSS Infrastructure Projects topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 8,477.82 million. It was followed by Reliance Industries (Rs. 1,468.33 million), Tata Motors (Rs. 1,431.62 million) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (Rs. 969.02 million).

The volume chart was led by ARSS Infrastructure Projects with trades of over 11.51 million shares. It was followed by Spicejet (8.19 million), Unitech (7.57 million) and Nectar Lifesciences (7.55 million).

New Listing

Equity shares of ARSS Infrastructure Projects got listed on the bourses today. The shares of the company settled at Rs 750, a premium of 66.67% as against its issue price of Rs 450 a share on the National Stock Exchange. The shares of the company got listed at Rs 630 on the NSE, and touched a high of Rs 751.80 and a low of Rs 630. A total of 15.76 million equity shares were traded. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the shares of the company settled at Rs 736.30, a premium of 63.62% as against issue price of Rs 450 a share. The shares of the company got listed at Rs 640 on the BSE, and touched a high of Rs 754.70. A total of 115 million equity shares were traded. The scrip is placed in the `B` Group and has been assigned the scrip code of 533163.