Mcap of BSE-listed firms climb to fresh all-time high of Rs 319.10 lakh crore

New Delhi: The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms climbed to a fresh all-time peak of Rs 319.10 lakh crore on Thursday, driven by an optimistic trend in equities, where Sensex recorded its fifth straight day rally.

The BSE benchmark recovered all the early lost ground and finally ended with a gain of 385.04 points or 0.58 per cent at 66,265.56.

In the past five sessions, the benchmark has jumped 1,434.15 points or 2.21 per cent.

The buoyancy in equities helped the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms reach a new record high of Rs 3,19,10,019.04 crore. Investors wealth also climbed Rs 9.50 lakh crore in five days.

"After a volatile start, markets rebounded sharply to maintain their upward bias for the fifth consecutive session, even as foreign inflows continued to be patchy amid falling rupee and global economic uncertainty. Today's rally came despite weakness across the Asian and US markets, as investors remain upbeat about India's long-term growth prospects," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro jumped 4.26 per cent to emerge as the biggest gainer, followed by IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, NTPC, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank and Wipro.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, UltraTech Cement and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.79 per cent and smallcap index jumped 0.40 per cent.

Among the indices, capital goods rallied 2.29 per cent, industrials climbed 1.55 per cent, realty jumped 1.44 per cent, bankex gained 1.12 per cent, utilities (1.04 per cent), financial services (0.97 per cent) and energy (0.96 per cent).

FMCG emerged as the only laggard.

"The domestic market initially opened with a lacklustre performance, influenced by weak global cues. However, as the day progressed, a decline in US bond yields and crude oil prices injected some positivity into the market.

"This optimism was most prominent in banking stocks. Interestingly, mid-and small-cap stocks managed to retain investor interest even though their valuations are relatively high," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.