Sensex reclaims 60,000, Nifty sits above 17,900 first time after 4-month; NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv top gainers

Buoyed by positive global cues, the 30-share Sensex surged more than 200 points to reclaim 60,000-mark for the first time in the past four months in early trade on Wednesday. NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever and Asian Paints were top contributors in the benchmark index's rally on Monday. Tata Steel was the volume topper on the index with total traded quantity of 10,71,500 shares around 9.50 am.  

"I think it is a case of history repeating itself. Whenever the Sensex has not entered a bear market, the reversal has been quite quick historically and the same has happened this time also," Rahul Shah, Co-Head of Research, Equitymaster, said on the index reclaiming 60,000-mark.  

The icing on the cake is that unlike last time, the valuations are much more reasonable this time around, he said. "Although the broader market is by no means cheap, it isn't prohibitively expensive either. Therefore, those looking for fundamentally strong stocks at attractive valuations could still find pockets of undervaluation," he added.

Meanwhile, the Nifty50 surged past 17,900 for the first time since April 6.  NTPC, HDFC Life, Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Finance were top gainers on the 50-share index.  

Earlier, Tracking Asian markets, the Indian benchmark indices opened on a positive note on Wednesday. The barometer indices started higher by around 0.15% amid positive global cues and consistent buying from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in August. FIIs bought shares to the tune of Rs 1,376.84 crore in the Indian market on August 16, taking the net buying to Rs 16,218.50 crore in the cash market this month so far.  

Meanwhile, the Nifty50 started near 15,900 and the Sensex gained around 100 points. The two indices opened at 17,868.15 and 59,938.05 respectively on Wednesday. 

Though Nifty paused on Tuesday at 17835, we are not convinced that the 50-share index has topped out, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. 

"This encourages us to continue riding the 18200 views, but with VIX slipping, trading ranges are indeed shrinking. Downside markers may continue to remain near 17660/690, with 17900vicinity likely to pose an intraday challenge," he added.