Sensex tops 19,000

The sensex on Monday surged to its highest level in 32 months, breaching the 19,000 mark for the first time since January 18, 2008. It closed the day at 19,208, up 409 points over last week’s close, a tad off the mid-day level of 19,243. The day’s gain—the highest in four months—came,as in the recent past, on the back of frantic buying by foreign fund managers, while domestic ones, again as seen lately, were a cautious lot, booking profits. The BSE data showed that while FIIs were net buyers at about Rs 2,500 crore, domestic funds were net sellers at nearly Rs 1,000 crore. And Sebi data showed that so far in the current month, in just eight trading sessions, FIIs have pumped nearly $1 billion into Indian stocks. As a result of the current rally, investors have become richer by nearly Rs 4 lakh crore in the last one month, with the BSE’s market capitalization now at Rs 69.9 lakh crore. And if we consider the wealth effect since March 9, 2009—the perceived starting point of the current rally when the sensex was at a low of 8,110—investors have become richer by about Rs 44 lakh crore.