On Wednesday, the market capitalization of BSE-listed companies soared to a historic high of Rs 429.32 lakh crore, driven by the BSE benchmark Sensex’s upward movement amid a broadly positive trend in global equities.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed up by 149.98 points, or 0.20 percent, at 76,606.57. During the day, it reached a peak of 77,050.53, gaining 593.94 points or 0.77 percent, just 28.51 points shy of surpassing its previous all-time high of 77,079.04.
The market capitalization of BSE-listed firms peaked at Rs 4,29,32,991.65 crore (USD 5.14 trillion), marking the highest in history.
Power Grid led the gains on the Sensex with a 2.54 percent increase, followed by Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, and HCL Technologies. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, and Titan experienced declines.
In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai ended on a positive note, while Tokyo and Hong Kong closed lower. European markets predominantly traded with gains, reflecting positive sentiment. In the US, markets concluded mostly higher on Tuesday.
In the broader market spectrum, the BSE midcap index surged by 1.07 percent, and the smallcap index climbed by 1.06 percent. Among sectoral indices, industrials, power, capital goods, energy, commodities, healthcare, and metal witnessed significant gains, while the realty and FMCG sectors lagged.
“Despite a strong start, the markets only managed modest gains supported by selective buying, as investors exercised caution ahead of the US policy rate meeting later in the day,” commented Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd.
(With PTI Inputs)