Sensex crosses 17,000 points, Nifty breaches 5,000-mark (Fourth Lead)

MUMBAI - Buoyed by the positive weekend numbers on industrial output and cues from the government on its divestment plans, a key index of Indian equities markets Monday rose 163 points to close above the 17,000-mark.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened higher at 16,893.11 points against Friday’s close at 16,848.83 points and rose 162.84 points to close at 17,011.67 points (provisional).

The index saw an intra-day high of 17,083.2 points, but shed some gains in the last 30 minutes’ trade.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty breached the 5,000-point mark to end trade at 5,051.55 points, with a gain of 1.05 percent, over the previous close at 4,998.95 points.

Broader market indices were also trading in the green, with the BSE midcap index closing 1.07 percent higher and the BSE small cap index 1.13 percent up.

The government Friday said all ministries have been asked to compile a list of state-run firms for sale of stake and listing on stock exchanges, while it expected partial divestment in at least three such firms by the end of this fiscal.

Disinvestment Secretary Sunil Mitra said as per data available for 2007-08, there were 10 listed state-run firms with less than 10 percent public holding, while 50 others met the criteria for divestment in terms of profits and net worth.

Statistics on India’s industrial production a day earlier showed a 9.1-percent growth in September, compared to 6 percent in the corresponding month last year, in yet another sign of economic recovery in the country.