Sensex zooms by 520 points as energy sector shares rally

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday jumped up by a staggering 520 points, its biggest single-day gain in 22 months, to close above the 19,000-mark, led by a rally in energy sector stocks, after the government approved nearly doubling of natural gas prices, amid sharp recovery in rupee.

The 30-share index started the day on a firm note and continued rising further and ended the day 519.86 points, or 2.75 per cent higher at 19,395.81. This is Sensex's biggest single day rise since 567.5 on August 29, 2011 and the first time in 10 days that it closed above the 19,000 mark.

Investor wealth went up by Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 159.85 points, or 2.81 per cent, to close at 5,842.20. Also, SX40 index, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed 275.16 points, or 2.45 per cent higher at 11,494.35.

Brokers said the rally was mostly confined to oil and gas sector stocks led by Reliance Industries, ONGC, Cairn India, BPCL and Indian oil by jumping up to 6 per cent after the government approved near doubling of natural gas prices, a move seen positive for upstream companies.

A recovery move in Indian rupee against the dollar, returning from all-time low of 60.76 to 59.19 today further brought confidence among foreign investors.

A firming Asian trend and higher opening in Europe after a US Federal Reserve official move to soothe fears of the bank would wind up its stimulus program too soon, also remained a postive factor for the market.

Out of the 30 BSE shares, all but HUL ended with gains.

In the refinery sector, Reliance Industries rose by 3.78 per cent to Rs 861.85, BPCL by 5.74 per cent to Rs 365.60, Indian oil by 5.04 per cent to Rs 234.55, ONGC by 2.98 per cent to Rs 330.10, HPCL by 3.74 per cent to Rs 253.80, Cairn India by 0.52 per cent to Rs 289.50 and GAIL India by 4.75 per cent to Rs 313.

Sectorally, the metal sector index gained the most by rising 4.70 per cent to 7,753.76 followed by power index by 4.15 per cent to 1,622.55. Capital goods index rose by 4.03 per cent to 9,111.38 and Oil and Gas sector by 3.37 per cent to 8,900.41.