The Bombay Stock Exchange’s sensitive index (Sensex) put up a repeat performance on Tuesday, scaling a new lifetime high. The 30-scrip Sensex closed 142.25 points up at 14,806.51 after touching an intra-day high of 14,828.39. The broader-based Nifty, too, ended over 1 per cent higher at 4,357.55 on the National Stock Exchange after hitting 4,363.35.
"I am not bearish on the market. We are at the beginning of the earnings season and expect 20 per cent earnings growth. If that happens the market may see a 500-point rise or stay here," said Ramdeo Agarwal, joint managing director, Motilal Oswal Securities.
The sweep of monsoon across the country has heightened hopes of better food output and lower inflation. Interest rate sensitive stocks, especially bank stocks, continued to gain. State Bank of India, the country’s leading bank, topped in the list of the gainers as well as the volume chart.
It touched an intra-day high of 1,590.95 before closing the day at Rs 1,582. The Bankex and the Capital Goods Index have yielded weekly gains of 4.34 per cent and 4.91 per cent, respectively, against the Sensex gain of 2.11 per cent.
Larsen & Toubro rose by Rs 24 to Rs 866 following reports of it shedding a further stake in Ultra Tech Cement and Bharti Airtel gained 3.5 per cent on the news of an expected expansion in its customer base and signing of a deal with Nokia Siemens Networks.
{{/usCountry}}Larsen & Toubro rose by Rs 24 to Rs 866 following reports of it shedding a further stake in Ultra Tech Cement and Bharti Airtel gained 3.5 per cent on the news of an expected expansion in its customer base and signing of a deal with Nokia Siemens Networks.
{{/usCountry}}"The risk-reward equation currently is not in favour of the large-cap stocks," commented Rahul Rege, head of non-institutional business at BRICS Securities.
Stocks across sectors were moving up mainly on liquidity, except for information technology stocks, said a member of the Bombay Stock Exchange. "Infosys’ results are anxiously awaited and there are concerns about guidance from the company," he added.
Two days ahead of the listing of DLF shares on the bourses, real estate stocks such as Parsvnath, Sobha Developers, Unitech, Ansal Properties, Mahindra Gesco and Indiabulls Realty all ended the day with gains. DLF’s listing price is expected to set the trend for movement in property stocks.