Markets Witness Highest Single Day Jump in 21 Months

It was a cheerful day for the stock markets, with the Sensex lodging its highest single day gain of 623 points at 18,477, after May 18, 2009, when the BSE benchmark closed up 2,111 points after the UPA 2 was re-elected to power. The Nifty closed at 5,522 up 189 points. Yesterday's Budget allayed fears of a persistent volatile market environment, owing to geo-political reasons in West Asia, and the markets closed positively after choppiness marked trade since the eruption of civil turmoil in Libya. After a strong opening this morning, following a fairly satisfactory Budget yesterday, and positive response from industry, the bourses clocked in gains, with the Auto index leading the gains, mostly. A firm uptrend continued to mark the late session of trades, as the Sensex traded at its intra-day high post 1500 hours, when it touched 18,479. The Budget proved a relief rally for most investors, as the government doled out proposals to counter rising inflation, and further economic growth. For the next fiscal, the government increased the IT exemption limit for individuals from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 1.8 lakh. Top gainers on the Sensex were auto major Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 665 up by a whopping 8%, followed by Maruti Suzuki at Rs 1,293 and Jaiprakash Associates at Rs 83 both up 7%.