Investors wealth crosses Rs 60 lakh crore

MUMBAI: Investors' wealth on Friday crossed the Rs 60,00,000-crore mark for the first time with the benchmark Sensex attaining a new peak amid strong buying by funds.

Investors' wealth, measured in terms of total market capitalisation of all the listed companies, rose to a new peak of 60,43,188.92 crore, gaining over Rs 1,53,000 crore from Thursday's Rs 58,89,943 crore.

The previous record was struck on October 16, after which the market went into a sharp plunge and eroded over Rs four trillion from the investors' kitty in just three days. The Sensex lost close to 1,500 points during that period.

In Friday's trading, the index rose 472.28 points to close at 19,243.17, after scaling an intra-day high of 19,276.45.

Total investor wealth had dropped to Rs 54,65,000 crore at the end of trade on October 19, third day after the market regulator SEBI proposed measures to curb capital flow through offshore derivative instruments such as participatory notes.

Of the total loss of over Rs 4,06,000 crore (about $102 billion) during the three days, the 30 biggest blue-chip companies, belonging to the Sensex, suffered losses of nearly half the amount of Rs 1,96,800 crore.

Among the firms listed on the Sensex, 23 added to their market value today, while seven suffered losses. Across the market, over 61 per cent gained and about 36 per cent lost.

Major gainers included Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, BHEL, Mahindra & Mahindra, ONGC and ICICI Bank. Total 110 stocks hit their record highs and just two dipped to a record low on the BSE.