Sensex surges in year-end sizzle

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index, Sensex, on Wednesday jumped by 162 points or 0.8% — its best daily gain in a month, HT reports.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index, Sensex, on Wednesday jumped by 162 points or 0.8% — its best daily gain in a month — to close at 19,417 points as the government announced more incentives for exporters and market expectations of more steps from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ease the liquidity situation.

HT Image

The 50-stock National Stock Exchange Nifty firmed up by 49.85 points or 0.9% to 5,905.6.

Experts said the market is likely to fare well in 2013, driven by macro-economic improvement both home and abroad.

“Domestic inflation is expected to fall, which bodes well for the Indian economy, while recovery in the US and Europe are expected to gain momentum,” said Vaibhav Agrawal, vice-president, research, Angel Broking. “We expect the Sensex to hit 21,000 in 6-12 months.”

As December derivatives contracts expire on Thursday, brokers said investors increased positions, while the rush of foreign capital inflows continued .

“The market breadth changed from negative to positive as 1,523 stocks were seen advancing, against 1,416 stocks declining,” said said Alex Mathews, head research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Among sectoral indices, the Capital Goods index rose by 1.68%, followed by the Bankex (1.36 %), Realty (1.22 %), Power (0.95 %) and Oil and Gas (0.80%).