SENSEX TURNED EXTREMELY BULLISH

SOARES BY 684 POINTS TO 20647

The Sensex today soared 684 points to an almost three-year high after the US Federal Reserve unexpectedly left its stimulus programme unchanged, easing fears of capital outflows and giving RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan some leeway before his first monetary policy review. The US Federal Reserve yesterday surprised the market by saying it will continue with its monthly USD 85 billion bond buying programme and wait for more signs of growth recovery. The decision may attract investments in most emerging markets, including India, this year. The rupee also got a boost and traded at 61.80 against the dollar, up over 150 paise, when the stock markets closed for the day. Gains on the BSE were led by banking, realty and capital goods shares, with 12 of the 13 sectoral indices rising. State Bank of India, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank were the major winners on the Sensex. The 30-share index opened more than 390 points higher and climbed to a peak of 20,739.69 before settling at 20,646.64, up 684.48 points or 3.43 per cent. It was the highest level for the index since closing at 20,875.71 on November 10, 2010. The wider CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange shot up by 216.10 points, or 3.66 per cent, to end at an almost four-month high of 6,115.55. The SX40 index on the MCX Stock Exchange closed at 12,232.1, up 430.52 points.

Banking and rate-sensitive stocks got support from investors ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's mid-quarter monetary policy meeting tomorrow. Rajan, who took over as RBI Governor earlier this month, rescheduled his much-anticipated first monetary policy statement by a few days to September 20, keeping in mind the two-day Fed meeting. Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 580.13 crore yesterday, according to provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Investor wealth soars by Rs 1.83 lakh cr

investors became richer by Rs 1.83 lakh crore as the 30-share Sensex ended at 20,646.64, up 684.48 points or 3.43 per cent, the biggest gain since September 10 when the index had rallied 727 points. Among the BSE 13 sectoral indices, 12, barring IT sector, ended the day in green with gains in the range of 0.74-6.78 per cent. From the 30-Sensex constituents, 28 stocks saw rise, with SBI leading the pack, surging 8 per cent. In the process, the investor wealth rose by a whopping Rs 1.83 lakh crore to Rs 66.53 lakh crore. As many as 62 stocks touched their 52-week high, while 113 scrips hit their one-year low level. Overall, 1,430 stocks rose, while 997 scrips tanked on BSE.  Analysts said market sentiment turned extremely bullish on a flurry of buying by funds driven by strengthening rupee and a firming global trend after the US Federal Reserve surprised markets by sticking to its massive bond-buying programme.