It took 17 sessions for the index to scale the 35,000 mark from 34,000 level reached on December 26.

The government’s decision to lower its additional market borrowing by 60% propelled banking stocks on Wednesday which, in turn, pushed the benchmark Sensex above the 35,000 mark for the first time ever.

Incidentally, the Sensex took more than just a fortnight to register a rally of 1,000 points as the 30-share benchmark breached the 34,000-mark for the first time on December 26.

Nifty also ends high

On Wednesday, the Sensex gained 310.77 points or 0.89% to close at 35,081.82. The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange closed at a record high of 10,788.55, up 88.1 points or 0.82%.

The broad-based rally saw all sectoral indices on the BSE also ending the day in the green with those representing banking, information technology and finance touching their highs during intra-day trades.

The market breadth, however, was slightly negative with 1,476 declines as against 1,424 gainers as some of the side counters saw selling pressure on account of profit booking.

Managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Securities Dhiraj Relli attributed the rally to the lowering of additional borrowing requirement for the current fiscal to ₹20,000 crore from the ₹50,000 crore estimated earlier.

Market participants welcomed the move with the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector heavyweights leading the gainers pack, he said.

The gainers in the Sensex pack were led by Axis Bank, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank followed by Infosys and Yes Bank.

Incidentally, the BSE Information Technology, in which Infosys and TCS command a significant weightage, has gained nearly 12% in the past one month on expectations of strong results.

The BSE Bankex and BSE Finance indices have gained over 3% each in the past one month that saw banking heavyweights gain ground on developments related to recapitalisation and debt resolution.

The benchmark Sensex is up 4.41% in the past one month. In terms of valuations, the banking index is trading at a price earning ratio of a little over 30 times, while the Sensex is currently at 25.80 times.