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Bulls on a rampage: Sensex zooms to 5375, Nifty at 1592, rupee 43.48

Our Special Correspondent in Bombay

The stock markets in India opened on a sensational note on Monday morning as pivotals and infotech stocks led a rally. Bulls are on a rampage, dealers said.

All major indices surged past record levels and were at all-time highs at noon.

The Bombay Stock Exchange, India's premier bourse, witnessed volatile trading. The BSE Sensex, the 30-share benchmark index, began its sky-bound climb right from the word go.

At 13.45 hours IST, the index was at 5351, up 346 points or 6.91 per cent from last Thursday's close.

Trading at the National Stock Exchange was also volatile. The S&P CNX Nifty was up 104 points or 7.02 per cent at 1584.

The Indian rupee was steady at 43.48 to the US dollar, up two paise, in early deals.

Early reports indicate that the buoyant sentiment has been sparked by reports that the stock exchanges have made a smooth transition to the New Year, without their computer systems encountering any Y2K problems.

The Sensex closed at 5375, an all-time high. The Nifty closed at 1592, again an all-time high. The Sensex gained 370 points or 7.39 per cent, the Nifty gained 112 points or 7.56 per cent in a single day. Had the Sensex risen by an another 30 points, it would have been frozen. That would have created history: never has the Sensex rose to maximum permissible heights.

Software scrips hit the upper limit in first half-hour of trading. The cyclicals followed soon after.

Will the rally sustain itself? Market players said over the medium- to long-term, the market will test new levels.

In the short-term, the market will witness a correction. At the current level, it is at a highly overbought position with net outstanding in excess of Rs 37 billion in the market. With corporates' third quarter results due this month, the market will watch with keen interest the figures. These will set the tone for the next three months. Besides, the expected new fund allocations by foreign institutional investors will play a major role in determining the future course of the market, analysts said.

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