RootsIn -Sensex regains 18k level after six months,up 209 points in early trade:

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Sensex regains 18k level after six months,up 209 points in early trade:

Location - Mumbai, Maharashtra ..Posted on 15 Feb 2012

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark index Sensex, Wednesday regained 18,000 points level by rising nearly 209 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds and retailers on better-than-expected quarterly earnings by corporates.

The 30-share index, which had gained almost 100 points in last two trading sessions, shot up by 208.76 points, or 1.17 percent, to trade at 18,057.33 with all sectoral indices, led by auto and realty, gaining up to 2.63 percent.

The wide-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange moved up by 60.25 points, or 1.11 percent, to 5,476.30.

Brokers said besides encouraging quarterly corporate earnings, firming trend on other Asian bourses on expectations of a solution to Greece's debt worries boosted the trading sentiment.

Indian markets have already rallied 15% this year and suddenly it looks that the rally has got legs with more participation coming in. The sharp rise has been on the back of over $2 billion foreign inflows into equities this year and there have been apprehensions on the longevity of the rally especially because there has been no noticeable improvement in the fundamentals. Independent analyst Sanjiv Bhasin told that there might be some profit booking but the rally is unlikely to end soon.

Better-than-exepcted quarterly earnings by Tata Motors and other blue-chip companies and easing inflation were other positive factors, they said.Tata Motors shot up by 6.68 percent to Rs 285.80.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.09 percent and Japan's Nikkei Index by 1 percent in early trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 0.03 percent yesterday.The market breadth was strong with over 93% stocks rising on the broader BSE 500 index.