Shares rise on Fed comments; Nifty gallops 118 pts above 5,900

A swift turnaround in market sentiment on the back of easing fears about an early global liquidity squeeze triggered frenzied buying as the benchmark CNX Nifty vaulted by a staggering 118 points on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today and closed above the 5,900 mark.
The unexpectedly dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that accommodative monetary policy would continue in the near-term despite improving economic indicators, sparked a sharp rally across the global financial markets, including India.
Equity and currency markets across the world were witnessing heavy volatility in recent past on possibility of a sudden stop in global liquidity if the Fed scaled back its monthly USD 85 billion worth of bonds buying programme, which has benefited many developing Asian markets.

Strong buying in financial, FMCG, energy, technology, healthcare, metal and capital goods stocks fuelled today's massive rally.
After a strong start, the key index maintained its strong momentum throughout the session and surpassed the key psychological 5,900 level to conclude with handsome gains.
India, which is running large current account deficit, has been a major beneficiary of the Fed's quantitative easing programme and a sudden halt to it will adversely impact domestic bourses, a trader said.

The 50-share index galloped to a high of 5,948.85 before finishing at 5,935.10, registering a 118.40-point gain, or 2.04 per cent, over its last close.

Sesa Goa, Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank, TCS, IndusInd Bank, Coal India, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda and ONGC were the most prominent index gainers. The notable laggards included L&T, Ranbaxy and Tata Motors.
Turnover in the cash segment fell to Rs 8,702.72 crore from Rs 9,025.57 crore yesterday. A total of 4,825.03 lakh shares changed hands in 50,916,02 trades. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 63,26,469 crore.