Sensex hits 35,000 for the first time, gains 1000 points in just 16 sessions

Adding on to its record-breaking spree, the domestic market hit another fresh high today with the benchmark Sensex touching its crucial 35,000 mark for the first time ever, while the broader Nifty50 crossed its key 10,800 level in intraday trade.  

Optimism around quarterly corporate earnings and government's announcement of lowering the additional borrowing requirement for the current fiscal brought momentum in banking, health care and IT stocks, lifting the equity indices. All the sectoral indices, except Nifty Media, on the NSE ended in green. Nifty PSU Bank index rose over 4% while Syndicate Bank and PNB, constituents of the index, rose over 6%.  

The Sensex had hit its earlier milestone of 34,000 on December 26, 2017. The 30-share index took just 16 sessions to rally over 1,000 points to hit its fresh high of 35,118.61.  

The Sensex and the Nifty50 settled today's session at record closing highs. The Sensex ended at 35,081, up 310.77 points, while the Nifty50 closed at 10,788, up 88.10.

Ashish Chauhan, Chief Executive Officer of the BSE, said the ongoing bull run will continue and the herd mentality seen during Harshad Mehta's days is unlikely to repeat. He advised investors to stay cautious and plunge into equities only after doing the proper home-work. 

"The sensible investors, who invest in well-run companies for long-term earn favourable returns for themselves and also contribute to country's growth," he said. 

Market expert Ajay Bagga said the bull run has just started. 

"We are in an early stage of economic recovery and the bull run that we are seeing is also at its infancy. I don't see any euphoria or frenzy as of now. The bull run is realising its full potential all thanks to retail investors, who have been investing in equities via SIPs.  

The expert advised to play the Indian consumption story in 2018, and also suggested to look into last year's laggards i.e. IT and pharma stocks. 

Meanwhile, BSE’s India International Exchange, the country’s first international exchange, situated in the Gift City at Gandhinagar, witnessed an all-time high daily trading turnover of over Rs 2,500 crore ($404.69 million)  today. The exchange operates 22 hours every day – opening with the Japanese markets and closing with Chicago markets.
This is the highest volumes recorded by the exchange since inception, accounting for 82% of the total trading volumes.