Sensex reclaims 17k…Nifty tops 5100

Indian markets had a rocking session on Wednesday, with the main indices notching strong gains on the back of a global surge in equities and persistent inflows from the overseas investors. The Nifty recaptured the 5100 mark while the BSE Sensex re-conquered the 17,000 level. The rally was not restricted to the Large-Caps only, with the non-index counters also joining the party.

Markets extended the upswing led by sustained strength in Realty, Power, Capital Goods and the Banking space. The BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.2%, while BSE Small-Cap index added 1.5%.



Markets started off with smart gains amid positive cues from the Asian markets. US stocks did well to recover but still closed in the red. The gains accelerated after European indices posted solid gains following a recent drubbing.

FII inflows have gained some traction lately which has partly been the driving force behind the recovery from recent lows.

"But, will the Indian markets continue to current upswing? A lot would depend on the domestic macro-economic data, including IIP, monthly inflation, and most importantly the RBI monitory policy meeting in the coming weeks. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the developments in the overseas markets given the trepidation over the shaky US economy and sovereign debt problems in the eurozone.

Important Chinese economic statistics will also be released early morning on Friday. Markets will also tune into the speech by US president Barack Obama and Fed chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Friday," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL - India Private Clients.

Finally, the BSE Sensex ended at 17,065, adding 202 points. It had earlier touched a day's high of 17,157 and a day's low of 16,922. It opened at 16,922. The NSE Nifty closed at 5,124, up 60 points.

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Today's gains in the Indian market came despite a bomb explosion outside Delhi High Court killing at least 11 people.

The market breadth was very positive today as Small-Cap and Mid-Cap indices too have kept pace with their Large-Cap peers.

The BSE Small-Cap index and the BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.

Barring FMCG, all the sectoral indices on the BSE closed in the positive terrain. Realty, Power, Capital Goods, Banking and Metals indices gained 2-3%. The PSU index rose by almost 2% while the Oil & Gas index was up ~1%.

The rest of the sectoral indices on BSE advanced modestly.

India VIX was down 2.8% at 27.86 after being as low as 27.40 and as high as 28.77. It had closed at 28.66 on Tuesday.

The Bank Nifty on the NSE was up smartly, rising by 2% to 9,858 after hitting a high of 9,906.

In today's big international developments, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its key policy rate and asset buying program steady at today's policy meeting.

Australia's GDP grew by 1.2% in the April-June quarter, swinging from a 0.9% decline in Q1 and beating economists' average forecast.

Meanwhile, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court rejected lawsuits seeking to block the country's participation in euro-zone bailouts.

However, the court added that the decision doesn't amount to a blank check, and that future bailouts will require parliamentary approval.

Asian markets gained 1-2% while the European indices rose 1.5-2.5%. US stock futures were pointing to a higher opening on Wall Street.

The dollar fell against the euro, snapping a six-day rally while the euro strengthened versus the greenback and the pound. Australia’s dollar rose after the GDP report.

Gold dropped for a second day in New York amid some improvement in global risk tolerance.

The yellow metal had yesterday rallied to an all-time high.

Metals and crude oil futures rose.