Sensational Sensex crosses the 20,000 mark

In Asia, it is next only to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. It may surprise many to learn that on July 25, 1990, the Sensex crossed the magical four-digit figure for the first time. It was a fantastic day for the Indian markets. The Sensex conquered the 20,000-mark on the back of delirious buying by foreign and local investors in blue-chip stocks.

The bellwether index, Sensex, on Monday breached the 20K level in intra-day trade for the first time in its over two-decade history. As many as 32 indices spanning across 19 countries have already crossed this mark. The Sensex made history after it hit an all-time high of 20,024.87 points during the last minutes of trading on Monday - gaining 780 points or 3.9% over the previous close.

The index took 11 trading sessions (only 10 days) to move from 19,000 to 20,000. Capital goods were the major drivers of the rally. The major drivers of Monday’s rally were index heavyweights Larsen & Toubro (up 9.73%), HDFC (8.92%), BHEL (7.55%), ONGC (6.49%), HDFC Bank (5.77%), Reliance (4.49%) and ICICI Bank (4.09%). Major losers were Tata Steel (down 8.89%), Tata Consultancy Services (0.34%), Bajaj Auto (0.32%) and Cipla (0.27%). With today’s landmark, Sensex has joined the 20,000-club, the club of countries which have seen their stock market index cross the 20,000 mark.

The countries whose stock market indices have crossed 20k level include Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezeula, Peru, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Italy, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Turkey, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Hong Kong.

Italy and Hong Kong have four indices each trading above 20K level, while South Africa and Peru have three such indices each. Mexico and Russia have two such indices each, while others have one index each to have crossed 20k level.

In Asia, the index is second only to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng; markets like China, Japan US, UK, Canada, Germany and France are yet to see any of their indices cross the 20-K mark. On July 25, 1990, the Sensex crossed the magical four-digit figure for the first time and closed at 1,001 in the wake of a good monsoon and excellent corporate results.

Other big indices in terms of sheer value include Egypt’s Hermes Index, Russia’s ASP General, Brazil’s Bovesta Index, Poland’s WSE WIG Index, Turkey’s ISE National 100 Index and benchmark index of Nigeria stock exchange, all of which are quoted above 50K points. (merinews, hindustantimes)