Sensex chronology

MUMBAI, FEB. 11. The BSE-30 sensitive index, which has acquired a unique place among investors reached another milestone touching the magical 6000-mark today.

The Sensex in its 14 year history has passed through various stages both in the bull and bear phases. Following is the chronology of the Sensex journey towards the 6000-mark.

January 2, 1986: The Bombay Stock Exchange launches first stock indices (with 1978-79 as base) comprising 30 highly liquid scrips from the specified and non-specified groups of shares listed on the country's five major stock exchanges - Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai.

July 25, 1990: The index touches the four figure mark for the first time and closes at 1,000.97 in the wake of good monsoon and corporate results. ACC's return to the dividend list also fuels the bullish sentiment.

January 15, 1992: The benchmark index crosses the 2,000 mark and closes at 2,020.18 following the bullish sentiment prevailing due to the liberal economic policy initiatives undertaken by the then Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

February 29, 1992: The market friendly budget by Dr. Singh leads the Sensex to touch the 3,000 mark and it closes at 3,017.68 in the post-budget trading session.

March 24, 1992: The index rises by 426.05 points (gain of 13.14 per cent), the highest gain in a single day in the Sensex history till date, to close at 3,669.58 from the previous closing of 3,254.53 following the market friendly budget and active buying by "big bull" Harshad Mehta.

March 30, 1992: Sensex, in just 30 days, rises by 1,000 points and crosses the 4,000 mark (closed at 4,091.43) in expectation of a liberal exim policy.

April 28, 1992: The 30 scrips index falls by record 570.42 points (12.77 per cent) to close at 3,869.90 from the previous closing of 4,467.32 due to exposure of securities scam and the Securities and Exchange Board of India asking for stock brokers trade data registration.

August 19, 1996: Major reconstitution of Sensex with the board of BSE deciding to replace 15 scrips from the index with a new one in order to have better representation of the market in the wake of changed economic environment. For the first time, the index includes companies from the financial sector with the inclusion of scrips such as ICICI, IDBI and State Bank India.

November 16, 1998: The BSE replaces four scrips from the Sensex with new ones following investor's fancy for software, pharma and multinational stocks. Includes Infosys Technolgies, NIIT, Novartis and Castrol in the list.

October 8, 1999: The Sensex crosses the 5,000 mark as the BJP-led coalition wins majority in the 13th Lok Sabha elections and revival of the Indian economy.

January 3, 2000: The smooth passage of the Y2K bug in India and across the globe increases investor's interest leading the Sensex to rise by 369 points - second highest rise in the history and closes at 5,375.

February 11, 2000: The uptrend in stock prices mainly in the infotech sector lifts the Sensex to 6,000-mark and it hits a record high of 6,005.85. But profit taking at the level brings back Sensex to close at 5933.56.

- PTI

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