Market capitalisation of nine Sensex stocks sky-rocketed by about Rs. 68,023 crore (approximately $10 billion) during the holiday-shortened trading week ended Wednesday. The biggest gainer was TCS, India's biggest IT software services exporter by sales. The markets were closed on Thursday and Friday for public holidays.
The rally on the stock exchanges was due to favourable macroeconomic data and forecast of an above-normal monsoon this year on Tuesday. Retail inflation came in at 4.83 percent for March and factory output, or index of industrial production (IIP) grew 2 percent in February, after witnessing three straight months of contraction.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) added to the good news with a forecast that rainfall will be fairly distributed this year, a welcome relief after two successive of drought.
"Rainfall in the country as a whole for 2016 South West monsoon (June 1 to September 30) is likely to be above normal by 104 per cent to 110 per cent of the long period average," IMD director general LS Rathore was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
The next day, the Sensex gained 481 points, or 1.91 percent, to end at 25,626.
The gainers were broad-based, ranging from TCS, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), HDFC Bank, to Infosys, ITC, Sun Pharma and Hindustan Unilever.
Though SUV maker Mahindra & Mahindra did not gain as sharply as other Sensex scrips, the stock was up 8.02 percent during the week to end at Rs. 1,332.60.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought heavily during the week; their net purchases were Rs. 1,057 crore in cash segment, according to brokerage Dynamic Levels.
