Sensex inches close to 17k level, Nifty breaches 5,000

The benchmark Sensex today rose by over 145 points and the wider index Nifty regained the crucial 5,000 level after 16 months on cues like expectation of better corporate earnings and reports of growth in advance tax to extend the gaining trend for the fifth day in a row.
    
After rising pretty close to the 17,000-level, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex settled at 16,886.43 points, higher by 145.13 from its last close.
   
During intra-day it jumped to the day's high level of 16,943.49. The bellwether index had notched up 672 points in past five trading sessions,
    
Wider national stock exchange index Nifty shot up by 44.15 points to 5,020.20, retaining over 5,000 level for the first time since May 22, last year.
      
Marketmen said trading sentiment got a boost after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on last Friday that said policy makers need to keep borrowing costs at a record
help economy recover.
     
Advance tax paid by companies in the July-September quarter rose 14.7% from a year earlier, after dropping 3.7% in the preceding three months.
    
The market also rose as the Asian Development Bank raised its economic growth forecast for Asia on strengthening expansions in India, China and Indonesia.
    
Sensex stock HDFC shot up by Rs134.35 to Rs2667.40.