Sensex breaches 78,000 level for 1st time, Nifty at record high as private bank shares shine
Mumbai, Jun 25: Benchmark Sensex breached the historic 78,000 level for the first time while Nifty settled at a new record high on Tuesday on buying in blue-chip bank stocks and Reliance Industries.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 712.44 points or 0.92 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 78,053.52. During the day, the benchmark soared 823.63 points or 1 per cent to hit a fresh lifetime high of 78,164.71.
The Sensex breached the 77,000 mark for the first time on June 10.
The Nifty went up by 183.45 points or 0.78 per cent to settle at a fresh record high of 23,721.30. During the day, it climbed 216.3 points or 0.91 per cent to hit an intra-day lifetime high of 23,754.15.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries and Infosys were the biggest gainers.
Power Grid, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Nestle, Maruti and JSW Steel were among the laggards.
"A rally in the banking stocks pushed Nifty to hit another record - 34th time this year though a host of other sectors ended in the negative," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.26 per cent while the smallcap index dipped 0.03 per cent.
"A positive news from the market perspective is the current account turning surplus in Q4 FY24. This will take away the pressure on the rupee and pave the way for FII inflows when clarity emerges on the Fed rate cuts," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
India recorded a current account surplus of USD 5.7 billion or 0.6 per cent of GDP in the March quarter, the Reserve Bank of India said on Monday.
This is the first time in ten quarters that the crucial metric of the country's external strength has turned into surplus mode.
Among indices, bankex jumped 1.87 per cent, financial services climbed 1.45 per cent, IT by 0.53 per cent, capital goods by 0.28 per cent and teck by 0.43 per cent.
Realty declined 1.82 per cent. Power (1.05 per cent), utilities (0.95 per cent), metal (0.84 per cent) and telecommunication (0.28 per cent) also dropped.
"The markets edged higher signaling a resumption of the uptrend after a brief pause. Nifty traded within a range during the first half, but selective buying in heavyweight stocks, particularly from the banking sector, spurred a sharp surge," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
“We believe the current buoyancy in banking, coupled with notable strength in IT, will dictate the trend, while other sectors may contribute on a rotational basis,” Mishra added.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled higher while Shanghai ended lower. European markets were trading in the negative territory. US markets ended on a mixed note on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.44 per cent to USD 85.63 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 653.97 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
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Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
