Magic Monday! When investors' wealth increased by Rs 1,76,000 crore

It was no less than a Magic Monday for investors on the Dalal Street today as their wealth increased by 1.76 lakh crore when the benchmark BSE Sensex rallied 553 points to close at 40,267.62. During the intra-day trade, Sensex had advanced 594.7 points, reaching the lifetime peak at 40,308.90. The NSE benchmark also surged 165.75 points, or 1.39 per cent, to settle Monday at 12,088.55. The surge in Sensex was led from the front by auto, FMCG, IT and realty sector stocks. Monday's Sensex surge was also partly influenced by an expected rate cut by RBI and an increase in demand from domestic sectors.

The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is slated to announce its bi-monthly policy Thursday. A Zee Business TV poll has shown that the central bank may announce the rate cut by up to 50 basis point. Most of the experts are, however, more pragmatic, expecting a 0.25% cut in repo rate. 

Of the 30 shares listed on BSE, as many as 27 stocks closed with gains today with the rally leaders being Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints. At the close of the market, all BSE sectoral indices were in the green while auto, energy, metal, tech and finance rallied up to 1.93 per cent.

Analysts told Zee Business TV in the day that the investors were buoyed by falling crude oil prices, foreign fund inflows and hopes of rate cut by the Reserve Bank.

The investors are also expecting some more strong reform measures by PM Narendra Modi-led new NDA government, which after a landslide victory in the general election, they added. 

The major gains on the Sensex were driven by a rally in heavyweights like HDFC, TCS. Hero MotoCorp topped the Sensex chart by surging 6.01 per cent. Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, HUL, and Maruti were also among the gainers.