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Sensex crosses 8000 milestone
By agencies
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Thursday, 08 September 2005, 19:30 IST
MUMBAI: The Sensex hit the coveted 8,000 mark immediately after the trading session commenced on Thursday. Later in the day the Sensex added gains to reach 8,042 at 15:00 hrs IST. Prominent among the gainers were Infosys, Satyam, TCS, Reliance, ONGC and HLL.
Earlier in the day the markets opened on a firm note and the benchmark 30-share index breached the magical 8000 mark. The Sensex had been steadily inching towards the magical figure over the past few trading sessions and the market observers were optimistic about the index scaling this landmark on Thursday.
An up trend in the global markets and a sharp decline in crude oil prices boosted the market sentiments in the opening trade on Thursday. The sustained strength in inflows from FIIs and robust buying activities by the domestic mutual funds also added to the positive sentiments on the bourses.
However, the market observers expect possible profit booking at the higher levels is likely to lead to potential downward pressures in the latter part of the trading session. The recently announced decision to hike the petrol and diesel prices is also likely to add to the cautiousness on the bourses, particularly on the auto counters.
However, auto scrips began trading on a firm note on Thursday, notwithstanding the fuel price hike. Sensex was holding firm in a narrow range between the 7,990 and 8,000 levels in early morning trade. There were just two scrips trading in red on the 30-share benchmark index, as compared to 28 stocks that were trading firm in positive territory.
The U.S. stocks had moved ahead for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. The benchmark U.S. light crude price dropped to below $64 per barrel, sharply down from the recently scaled record high of above the $70 per barrel mark.
Among the Indian ADRs, Dr Reddys Labs, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors moved higher on Wednesday, while ICICI Bank, Infosys, Satyam Computer, Wipro and Ranbaxy slipped into red.
A number of index heavyweights, including Reliance Industries (RIL), ONGC and Bharti Tele began trading on a firm note. A number of pivotal stocks from IT, banking, auto, pharma, energy and metals were also trading firm in the early morning trade.
IT scrips benefited considerably from the up trend in the U.S. markets.