Investor wealth zooms Rs 10.50 lakh cr in two days of mkt rally

Investor wealth continued to soar for the second consecutive day on Monday, rising by Rs 10.50 lakh crore so far, as market sentiment remained euphoric after a host of measures were announced to boost slowing economic growth. The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 1,331.39 points to a day's high of 39,346.01. On Friday, it had logged its biggest single-day gain in over a decade by surging 1,921.15 points or 5.32 percent to 38,014.62.

Led by the continued strength in the equity market, the market capitalization (m-cap) of BSE-listed firms jumped Rs 10,53,495.23 crore to Rs 1,49,05,246.57 crore so far in two days. The m-cap of BSE-listed companies was Rs 1,38,54,439.41 crore on Thursday.

Markets are on a rise since Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a surprise cut in corporate tax rates. The announcements were made during trading hours on Friday which send the markets soaring.

Announcing the latest set of measures to jump-start flagging growth, the Finance Minister slashed the base corporate tax for existing companies to 22 percent from 30 percent; and for new manufacturing firms, incorporated after October 1, 2019, to 15 percent from 25 percent. During the morning trade, 1,546 scrips advanced, while 732 declined and 152 remained unchanged.