Sensex scales Mount 60,000 for the first time, Nifty above 17,900

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Extending their record-setting streak, the benchmark BSE Sensex crossed the 60,000-mark for the very first time on Friday, driven by gains in Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and ICICI Bank. The 30-share index traded nearly 300 points, or 0.60% higher at 60,245, while the 50-share NSE Nifty index was up 100 points, or 0.56%, at 17,923.

Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, the IT index was up 1.96% in the early trade. It was followed by TECk (up 1.66%), Realty (up 0.95%), Bankex (up 0.65%), Captial Goods (up 0.65%). On the other hand, the BSE Metal (down 0.89%) and Consumer Durables (down 0.13%) were in the red.

Devang Mehta, head-equity advisory, Centrum Broking said, “With improvement in economic activity and the optimism around the capex cycle revival, the earnings trajectory for India Inc will naturally get a big boost. Most of the companies which are market leaders in their respective domains have seen operating efficiencies and productivity improvement and also been able to reduce debt with prominent gain in market share as well. Liquidity remains extremely strong, be it foreign portfolio investors, local mutual funds, insurance companies, family offices, HNI’s or even the retail investors.”

Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday even as US shares rallied overnight and easing fears of contagion from China Evergrande Group’s debt crisis. Although investors breathed a sigh of relief as concerns over China Evergrande’s debt woes receded somewhat, it remains unclear if and how the developer will pay the more than $300 billion of liabilities that it owes.

US stocks gained more than 1% on Thursday as fears around a crisis in China’s property market eased somewhat and as the Federal Reserve kept the current monetary stimulus in place for just a little bit longer.

The Bank of England on Thursday maintained its stimulus amount and record-low interest rate, even as it warned that UK annual inflation would top 4% this year. The BoE’s nine-strong monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to hold its key borrowing cost at 0.1%, a statement said. Policymakers voted 7-2 in favour of keeping its so-called quantitative easing stimulus at almost £900 billion ($1.2 trillion, 1 trillion euros).