Market ends on a positive note

The Sensex ended the volatile session higher supported by index heavyweights RIL, Hindalco and JP Associates. Buying was seen in oil & gas, banking and healthcare stocks, whereas realty, teck and auto stocks were underpressure.

The index opened flat with a loss of 12.58 points, at 16,111.09 on Wednesday on mixed global cues. It continued to trade in a narrow range amid volatility through the day. Finally it closed in green after trading in a subdued manner, touching a high of 16,215.74 and low of 16,044.77.

BSE Midcap index dipped 0.05%, while Smallcap index rose 0.06%.

Asian stocks fell as Alibaba.com`s chairman sold a stake and Lenovo Group shareholders reduced their holdings. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei fell 81.09 points, or 0.78%, to end at 10,312.14.Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index declined 218.77 points, or 1.04%, to close at 20,851.04.China`s Shanghai Composite increased 15.78 points, or 0.54% to settle at 2,946.26.

European stocks fell as investors speculated that a six-month rally in equity prices has outpaced the prospects for earnings growth. UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 fell 23.74 points, or 0.48%, to trade at 4,971.08. French benchmark index CAC 40 sank 9.06 points, or 0.25%, to trade at 3,670.30. Germany`s benchmark index DAX decreased 25.52 points, or 0.50%, to trade at 5,509.67 (4.10 pm)

The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 59.88 points, or 0.37% at 16,183.55 after touching a high of 16,215.74 and a low of 16,044.77. The broad-based NSE Nifty climbed 9.00 points, or 0.19% at 4,814.25 after hitting a high of 4,825.05 and a low of 4,783.50.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Reliance Industries (4.54%), Hindalco Industries (4.14%), Jaiprakash Associates (1.88%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (1.32%), HDFC Bank (1.29%), and Tata Consultancy Services (1.21%).

On the other hand, DLF (3.51%), Bharti Airtel (3.36%), Hero Honda Motors (2.44%), Wipro (1.75%), Reliance Communications (1.67%), and Reliance Infrastructure (1.11%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was negative. Out of the total 2,882 stocks traded at BSE, 1,280 advanced, 1,530 declined while 72 remained unchanged.

Vikash Agarwal, head-research, Devkinandan Consultants commenting on the market outlook said, ``Nifty is likely to touch 4,463 and Sensex may touch 15,007 level, if Nifty trades below 4,659 mark and Sensex below 15,640. If the markets move above 4,659 and 15,640 levels, then Sensex and Nifty may touch 4,856 and 16,273 levels, respectively.