Sensex, Nifty end over 2% up; Bankex surges

The benchmark index Sensex ended on a buoyant note led by banking, consumer durables, oil & gas, metal and realty stocks. The upmove was also supported by broader markets and frontliners. It opened positive with a gain of 32.51 points, at 16,190.79 on Monday following strong global cues. After few minutes of trading in green, the Index witnessed profit booking at higher levels and shed most of its gains. However the index regained its strength on account of heavy buying interest seen in funds and proceeded to trade higher to finally close on a cheerful note, touching a day`s high of 16,517.42.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap index rose 1.97% and 2.16% respectively.

European stocks rose for a third day, the longest stretch of gains in seven weeks, as a rally by banks overshadowed the highest U.S. unemployment rate in 26 years. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.20% to 241.06, extending its first weekly gain in three weeks to 1.70%. UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 rose 77.97 points, or 1.52%, to trade at 5,203.61. French benchmark index CAC 40 gained 52.22 points or 1.41% to trade at 3,759.51. Germany`s benchmark index DAX advanced 79.58 points or 1.45% to trade at 5,567.83. (4.25 p.m)

The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 340.44 points, or 2.11% at 16,498.72 after touching a high of 16,517.42 and a low of 16,147.21. The broad-based NSE Nifty gained 102.25 points, or 2.13% at 4,898.40 after hitting a high of 4,905.25 and a low of 4,789.90.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were State Bank Of India(5.19%), ICICI Bank (4.72%), HDFC Bank (4.06%), ITC (3.90%), Tata Power Company (3.78%), and Reliance Industries (3.46%).

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel (3.88%), Reliance Communications (2.19%), Hindustan Unilever (0.71%), Sterlite Industries (India) (0.45%), and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (0.02%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was extremely positive. Out of the total 2,796 stocks traded at BSE, 1,993 advanced, 756 declined while 47 remained unchanged.

All sectoral indices settled positive. BSE Bankex climbed 4.80%, Consumer Durables climbed 2.44%, Oil & Gas went up 2.40%, Metal gained 2.38% and Realty gained 2.20%.