Sensex makes a new record, Nifty tops 9,500 post Fed minutes

Mumbai: Key barometer Sensex on Thursday trumped all closing records by hitting 30,750 with a jump of 448 points -- its biggest single-day gain in over two months -- after the US Fed signalled that it will wait for more data for a rate hike.

The 50-share Nifty again got control of the key 9,500-level.

The minutes from the US central bank's May 2-3 policy meeting, according to traders, was in large part responsible for the sudden spike in enthusiasm. This prompted investors to cover their short bets as Thursday was also the last day for May futures and options contracts.

Today's rally was the biggest since March 14 when it surged 496.40 points. The gauge had lost 269.33 points in the previous two sessions.

The 50-share NSE Nifty again hit off the key 9,500 to scale the session's high of 9,523.30 before ending at 9,509.75, up by 149.20 points, or 1.59 percent.

The rupee showed strength for the second day against the dollar as it ended at 64.62 today, which came as a shot in the arm.

"The market rebounded from previous fall as FOMC minutes shared its concern over the hike in US rate in future due to

slowdown in economic growth, which is positive for emerging markets," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial

Services.

A spell of intense buying interest in late afternoon trade propelled the markets higher as participants carried forward their positions to the June series of derivatives. Positive earnings by some companies perked up sentiment.

The rally in domestic equities was largely in line with the upmove at other Asian markets, mirroring overnight gains on the Wall Street, as minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting favoured a cautious approach to raise borrowing costs.

Larsen and Toubro emerged as the top gainer, by surging 4.97 percent, followed by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

Voltas shot up by another 6.25 percent to close at a fresh one-year high after its solid quarterly earnings. Drug firm Lupin plunged 7.31 percent after the company yesterday reported a plunge in consolidated net profit.

The BSE capital goods rallied the most, up 3.52 percent. Banking spiked 2.82 percent, IT 2.32 percent and realty 2.01 percent.