Sensex closes above 19k levels

Thu, 4 Oct Closing

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Although indices in equity market of India came off the day's highs during the closing stages, investors still did enough to make the Sensex close above 19,000 levels. Thus, while BSE-Sensex edged higher by around 190 points, NSE-Nifty logged in gains of around 56 points (up 1%). BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices did not perform as well but still gained around 0.4% each. Nearly two Sensex stocks gained for every one that closed the day in the negative.

Most Asian indices closed strong today however Europe is trading mixed currently. The rupee was trading at Rs 51.7 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Sensex went past the psychologically crucial barrier of 19,000 for the first time in more than 15 months as expectations of further reforms prompted investors to buy into Indian equities. Notable gains were also seen in the BSE Realty index which gained around 5% today, more than double the gains recorded by the consumer durables index, the second highest sectoral gainer of the day. Already, talks are doing the rounds that there is a strong chance the Sensex would cross the elusive 21,000 mark by the end of this year itself. This however should not tempt long term investors into buying stocks without proper due diligence. It should be noted that such landmarks are nothing but publicity stunts by various media firms. Sensible investors should steer clear of such frenzies and instead always focus on fundamentals and valuation levels of individual companies.

Bajaj Auto, India's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has pipped Hero MotoCorp's largest selling bike Splendor to the number one spot. As per reports, Bajaj Auto's Discover brand of motorcycles sold around 1.23 lakh units in the month of September, marginally higher than the 1.21 lakh units that Hero managed to sell of Splendor. This change has not only been driven by Discover's growth in sales but is also a result of dwindling sales of Splendor, which have come down by more than 50% from almost 2.4 lakh units in April 2012. This development is another feather in the cap of Bajaj Auto, which until now was known to rule the roost in premium category of motorcycles. Bajaj Auto closed lower by around 1% today.

Tata Power, India's largest integrated power utility also traded weak today and closed marginally lower. As per reports, the company is on the lookout for coal assets in the US, Colombia and Africa. Since the state owned miner Coal India is unable to meet demand, the company is forced to take such a route. What more, the gas production in India also continues to decline. The company's total generation capacity is of the order of little more than 6,000 MW currently and its hunger for feedstock like coal would increase even more as it looks to increase its capacity.