Diwali dhamaka: Sensex closes above 21k pts for first-time

The Sensex surged by over 111 points during the special 'Muhurat' trading session on Diwali.

The BSE benchmark Sensex closed above the magical 21,000 points for the first time in history on Friday,jumping by over 111 points during an hour-and-a-quarter-long special ‘Muhurat’ trading session on the occasion of Diwali to mark the onset of Samvat Year 2067.

Propelled by bluechips like SBI,ICICI Bank and Hindalco,the Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share index started the session on a positive note and surged by 111.39 points,or 0.53 per cent,to 21,004.96,as against the previous record close of 20,893.64 achieved just on Thursday.

During the session,the Sensex hit an intra-day high of 21,108.64 — its highest level since January 10,2008,when it touched a peak of 21,206.77. This is only the fourth time in history that the 30-share index has been able to taste the magical 21,000 points mark.

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Another benchmark index,the NSE Nifty,ended at 6,312.45 points today,its best-ever close. The Nifty is just 44 points shy of its highest-ever level of 6,357.1,scaled on January 8,2008.

Diwali,which also marks the start of the new Hindu ‘Samvat’ calendar year,is considered auspicious by investors and stock exchanges hold a special ‘Muhurat’ trading session to mark the festival of light.

The market has rallied by over 5,000 points since last Diwali on October 17,adding close to Rs 20 lakh crore in market capitalisation.

State Bank of India rallied nearly 2 per cent to hit a lifetime high of Rs 3,497 during the session,before ending at Rs 3,489.5.

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However,Jaiprakash Associates was the biggest gainer,jumping by 4.37 per cent during the Muhurat session,while Hindalco rose by 2.72 per cent.

Other major gainers include M&M,which advanced 1.69 per cent,HUL (up 1.31 per cent),ICICI Bank (up 0.59 per cent) and TCS (up 0.75 per cent).

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose by 0.20 per cent to settle at Rs 1,06.95.

Barring Jindal Steel,Tata Power and L&T,the other companies in the 30-share Sensex pack ended with the gains.

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All 13 sectoral indices on the BSE finished in the red,with pharma,auto and bankex stocks leading the gains.

Coal India Ltd,which made a big-bang listing debut on Thursday,saw further buying and ended at Rs 349.65,higher by 2.1 per cent. In just two trading sessions,the scrip has gained nearly 43 per cent over the IPO issue price of Rs 245 per share.

“Robust FII inflows,coupled with firm overseas sentiment and positive economic data are supporting the market rally,” SMC Global Securities CMD S C Aggarwal said.