Sensex regains 60k level after 4 mths

Mumbai: BSE Sensex maintained its winning run for the fourth session on the trot on Wednesday to reclaim the 60,000-level after a gap of over four months as investors remained upbeat amid softening crude oil prices and persistent foreign fund inflows. A strengthening rupee and positive Asian markets further bolstered sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 417.92 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at 60,260.13 -- closing above the psychologically key 60,000-mark for the first time since April 5 this year.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty spurted 119 points or 0.67 per cent to finish at 17,944.25, marking its seventh straight session of gains.

"Consistent participation by FIIs is the backbone of the current rally in the domestic market. This reversal in the FII trend is owed to the resilience showcased by the Indian economy even as inflation continues to plague the western markets. Declining commodity and oil prices also instilled confidence in foreign investors," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd, adds: "The buoyancy in the global markets, especially the US, combined with favourable domestic factors like improving macros and consistent foreign inflows are helping the markets maintain the prevailing trend. We thus reiterate our bullish view and suggest using any intermediate dip or pause to create fresh longs. The scheduled weekly expiry may result in some whipsaws so plan accordingly."

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the Indian capital market on Tuesday, picking up shares worth Rs 1,376.84 crore, according to exchange data.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge rose 0.64 per cent and the smallcap index advanced 0.53 per cent. Sectorally, BSE telecom jumped 1.80 per cent, followed by teck (1.13 per cent), consumer durables (1.10 per cent), IT (1.04 per cent) and finance (0.90 per cent). Auto and capital goods were the laggards.