Sensex energized…shuts near day’s high

It was a strong day for the Indian markets as the benchmark stock indices ended near the day’s high. The strong upswing was led by Realty and Power stocks. Oil & Gas stocks continued their good run for a second straight day as heavyweights like ONGC, IOC, BPCL and HPCL extended gains post the partial deregulation of fuel prices on Friday. Momentum picked up pace after European markets advanced.



"Market players seemed to shrug off worries that an impending spike in inflation due to rising fuel prices would invite rate hikes by the central bank sooner or later," says Amar Ambani Vice President, Research IIFL.

The BSE 30-share Sensex gained by 200 points to close at 17,775 and Nifty ended higher by 65 points to end at 5,334.

Asian markets ended mixed, Japan's Nikkei Average slipped 0.4%, while the Hang Seng edged higher by 0.2%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged lower 0.7% while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped by 0.6%.

European stocks were in the green, FTSE index in UK was up 0.5%, CAC index in France was up 1% and DAX index in Germany added 1.1%.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, BSE Consumer Durables index was the top gainer, the index gained 3.1% followed by BSE Power index, which was up 2.2% and BSE Realty index was up 2.1%. However, the BSE FMCG index was down 0.8%.

While, BSE Mid-Cap index and the BSE Small-Cap index ended higher by 1.2% and 1.1% respectively.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were Balrampur Chini, Aban, Renuka Sugars and Videocon Ind. On the other hand, losers included UCO Bank, Indian Bank, Mphasis and Jet Airways.