Mumbai, Dec 29 (PTI) Equities rallied on the last trading Also Read - Heading To Lahaul-Spiti Valley Soon? You Might Have to Pay Green Tax
session of 2017 today, bringing to close a remarkable year Also Read - Himachal Pradesh: Over 150 Monks Test COVID Positive at Gyuto Monastery, 1 Critical, Others Quarantined
that saw the benchmarks surging past milestones and rewarding Also Read - Suicide Rates Rising, THIS Country Appoints 'Loneliness Minister'
investors with a stellar 28 per cent returns.
The BSE Sensex rose 209 points to finish at a fresh
life-time high of 34,056.83 today, while the broad-based NSE
Nifty jumped 52.80 points, or 0.50 per cent, to end at
10,530.70, just shy of its closing peak.
Power, IT, auto and infrastructure stocks witnessed
robust buying, while the beginning of the January 2018 series
of futures and options added to the momentum.
It has been an upbeat year for the markets. The Sensex
and Nifty surpassed the 34,000 and 10,500 levels for the first
time, shrugging off below-expected corporate earnings as well
as uncertainties on the global front.
While the implementation of the GST caused short-term
disruptions, investors feel the government will stay firm on
its reforms agenda, backed by the BJP’s strong showing in
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, brokers said.
The Sensex clocked its best performance in recent years,
rising by 7,430.37, or 27.91 per cent in 2017.
It had gained 508.92 points, or 1.94 per cent, last year.
The Nifty too rallied 2,344.90 points, or 28.65 per cent,
in 2017.
“Market surprised the investors with a positive note on
the final trading day of 2017. Expectation of a pick up in
third quarter earnings and strengthening of rupee supported
the sentiment.
“Focus on upcoming Union Budget and government’s reforms
will direct investors to turn sector/stock specific. We feel
that though the outlook on main indices is moderate in the
short to medium-term, the broad market will maintain its
vibrancy as businesses flourish,” said Vinod Nair, Head of
Research, Geojit Financial Services.
The 30-share index started the day on a strong note at
33,889.39 and hit a high of 34,086.05 before closing at
34,056.83, up by 208.80 points, or 0.62 per cent.
It surpassed its previous closing high of 34,010.61
reached on December 26.
The broad-based NSE Nifty rose 52.80 points, or 0.50 per
cent, to end at 10,530.70 after trading between 10,538.70 and
10,488.65.
Both the indices rose for the fourth straight week. The
Sensex advanced by 116.53 points, or 0.34 per cent, while the
Nifty gained 37.70 points, or 0.35 per cent, during the
period.
Shares of Reliance Communications continued their rally
for the fourth straight session today, ending 17 per cent
higher after Mukesh Ambani stepped in to bail out the debt-
ridden firm by acquiring spectrum, tower, optical fibre
network and other assets.
In four days, shares of the company have zoomed 122 per
cent adding Rs 5,506.76 crore to its market capitalisation.
In the Sensex kitty, Tata Motors saw the maximum gain of
3.06 per cent, followed by Axis Bank (2.74 per cent), TCS
(2.72 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (2.38 per cent), Adani Ports
(1.94 per cent), Wipro (1.90 per cent), Asian Paints (1.16 per
cent), Maruti Suzuki (1.05 per cent), HDFC Ltd (0.94 per
cent), ONGC (0.85 per cent), NTPC (0.83 per cent) and
Hindustan Unilever (0.79 per cent).
Sector-wise, the rally was driven by telecom (up 1.63 per
cent), power (1.46 per cent), teck (1.24 per cent), IT (1.20
per cent), auto (1.16 per cent), FMCG (0.85 per cent),
consumer durables (0.85 per cent), infrastructure (0.83 per
cent), capital goods (0.51 per cent), realty (0.46 per cent),
bankex (0.36 per cent) and healthcare (0.18 per cent).
The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices ended higher by
0.74 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respectively.
Trading was thin across global markets on the last
session of the year. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.19 per cent
while Shanghai Composite gained 0.33 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei
shed 0.08 per cent.
European markets were down in early trade with Paris CAC
40 falling 0.11 per cent, while Frankfurt’s DAX shed 0.29 per
cent. London’s FTSE rose 0.27 per cent.
This is published unedited from the PTI feed.