It's raining records in Mumbai. The benchmark BSE Sensex zoomed to its all-time high at 7,620 and closed the day at 7605.03 points, up 0.69 per cent. For four consecutive days now, the stock markets have closed at an all-time high.But that’s unlikely to be sustained when the markets reopen on Friday as the Bombay High fire will surely take a toll. Ironically, PSU giant Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) — which runs Bombay High — led the rise in the market, jumping 3.7 per cent to Rs 969.5. News of the fire, described as a major accident, came out after the market closed for the day.Due to the unscheduled consecutive banking holiday, which makes it difficult to move funds, market regulator Sebi has advised the stock exchanges to remain closed on Thursday, July 28, 2005.Despite today’s buoyancy, trading volumes were extremely low with brokers and dealers shying away from the market due to the torrential rains.Shares worth close to Rs 657 crore were traded on the BSE against an average trading volume of over Rs 3,100 crore. NSE also saw a 33 per cent dip in trading values to Rs 4,686.4 crore as against an average of over Rs 7,000 crore. Says a Mumbai-based broker: ‘‘Many dealers and day-traders were absent and trading was scarce.’’Reliance Industries’ better than average Q1 results, which saw the stock move up by 1.06 per cent to Rs 698.40, was instrumental in pushing the Sensex into uncharted territory. Thursday’s contract expiry will is now re-scheduled to Friday, July 29, 2005.
