Mumbai: The BSE Sensex on Wednesday soared to
the life-time high of 33,117.33 and the NSE Nifty scaled the
historic 10,340.55 mark in opening trade as banking stocks
rallied after the government announced a mega Rs 2.11 lakh
crore recapitalisation plan for NPA-hit state-run lenders.
The 30-share Sensex soared 509.99 points, or 1.56 per
cent, to quote at an all-time high of 33,117.33 points,
breaching its previous record high (intra-day) of 32,699.86
hit on October 17.
The gauge had gained 224.41 points in the previous two
straight sessions.
Banking behemoth SBI rallied 19.47 per cent while private
peers ICICI Bank and Axis Bank soared up to 8 per cent in
early trade, sending the barometer indices to record high.
All the sectoral indices led by bank, PSU, capital goods
and infrastructure were trading in the positive zone with
gains of up to 6.27 per cent.
The 50-share Nifty also hit a historic high of 10,340.55
by climbing 132.85 points, or 1.30 per cent. It also smashed
previous record (intra-day) of 10,251.85 points reached on
October 17.
Sentiment got a lift after the Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley on Tuesday announced a massive Rs 6.92 lakh crore
infrastructure spending and another Rs 2.11 lakh crore for
bank recapitalisation to revive investments as well as growth,
brokers said.
Among the PSU-banks, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India,
Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Oriental
Bank of Commerce, IOB, IDBI Bank, Andhra Bank, UCO Bank and
Bank of Maharashtra were at the centre stage and recorded
gains by up to 30 per cent.
Infrastructure segment stocks such as L&T, NHPC, HCC NCC
were major gainers, helping the key indices to scale new
highs.
Globally, in the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.12
per cent, Hong Kong's Hang gained 0.67 per cent, while China's
Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.10 per cent in their early
deals.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.72 per cent
in Tuesday's trade.
