Sensex ends above 26,000, Nifty hits new high on Budget hopes

The benchmark Sensex crossed the 26,000-mark for first time in its history and extended gains for the second consecutive day today surging 138 points on hopes Narendra Modi government will announce growth-oriented policies in its maiden Budget on Thursday.
Persistent capital inflows were also another factor behind the spurt in share values, traders said.
The 30-share BSE index after commencing the session above the historic 26,000 mark, climbed to touch a new intra-day record high of 26,123.55. It finally ended 138.02 points, or 0.53 per cent up, at a new closing peak of 26,100.08. The gauge surpassed its previous closing high of 25,962.06 on Friday when it had gained 138.31 points.

Infosys, TCS and Tata Motors led 21 gainers in 30-share Sensex while HDFC Bank, ONGC and ICICI Bank were laggards.
"Expectations are government will use the Union Budget to create an environment, which is conducive for growth. The idea will be to drive GDP growth to over 6 per cent in FY16, and further accelerate it to 7-8 per cent in ensuing years," said Arvind Sethi, MD & CEO, Tata Asset Management
The wide-based 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE rose 35.55 points, or 0.46 per cent, to end at new closing peak of 7,787.15. It logged an intra-day high of 7,792.00.

Investors have been accumulating blue-chip stocks on hopes that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on July 10 in the Budget would announce industry-friendly measures to revive the country's economy that is growing at near the slowest pace in a decade. Last week, Sensex jumped 862.14 points.

IT, power, pharma and auto counters attracted good buying support while shares from banking and refinery saw losses.
"Additionally, sentiments were further boosted after Brent crude slipped to 3-week low as Libya geared up to resume exports from two ports that have been closed for nearly a year," said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities.

Globally, Asian stocks ended mixed as key benchmark indices in China, Singapore and Taiwan moved up by 0.03-0.59 per cent. Indices in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, however, eased by 0.02-0.37 per cent. European markets were trading lower on profit-booking.
Foreign Portfolio Investors bought shares worth a net Rs 943.19 crores last Friday, as per provisional data.