Sensex races past 27,000 in early trade; oil, pharma, metals in demand

Extending the rally into the fifth straight session, key domestic share indices raced ahead in early Tuesday trade with the benchmark Sensex breaching the crucial 27,000-mark, as the upbeat global mood on receding concerns over the impending Fed rate hike cheered investors to up their ante after the last month’s sell-off. Mirroring overnight upsurge in the US markets, which were up nearly 2 percent, Asian indices also followed suit in today’s morning session giving investors back home more room to ride the bullish wave seen in recent trades. [caption id=“attachment_2456710” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] At 10 am, the 30-share BSE S&P Sensex pared some gains and was quoted at 26,907.28, up 121.73 points, or 0.4 percent from the previous close. A short while ago, the benchmark index scaled to a high of 27,010.27, up 224 points. In the last four sessions, the Sensex has spurted 1,170 points in a global-led uptick and revival in domestic sentiment after the RBI’s higher-than-expected policy rate cut. The broader 50-stock CNX Nifty was at 8,146.55, up 27.25 points, or 0.3 percent. Market breadth exhibited upward trend with gainers outpacing losers by over 2:1 ratio. Of the 1,784 stocks traded, 1,246 scrips advanced, 471 declined and 67 were unchanged on BSE. Aided by positive broad-market sentiment, shares of metal, consumer durables, oil & gas and pharma sectors attracted significant buying support. Among the gainers, Dr Reddy’s jumped 2.8 percent to Rs 4,297.45, Coal India rose 2.5 percent to Rs 337.65, Tata Motors added 2.2 percent to Rs 322.20, Gail gained 2 percent to Rs 304.50, Sun Pharma rose 1.8 percent to Rs 914.25 and Lupin was up 1.6 percent at Rs 2,116. Others such as Cipla, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever, wipro, M&M, Axis Bank and ITC were up around a percent each.