Sensex swings to smart gains

BSE Sensex gained 152 points to close at 20,310 and the NSE Nifty gained 50 points to close at 6,126.

Bulls staged a smart come back in the last one hour of trading on Monday after being on the sidelines for three straight trading sessions. The Indian market ended higher, kicking off the holiday-shortened week on a positive note. Markets were highly choppy throughout the day and struggled for direction as investors were still recovering from last Friday's big losses. But, the last hour saw a smart pull back after the Chinese market rebounded and European indices too recovered.



The bounce back was led by index heavyweights like SBI, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Cipla. On the other hand, Realty and Power stocks were among the major laggards.

"A rebound in the Chinese market towards the close of trade and in-line inflation data seemed to lift the sagging spirits on Dalal Street after Friday's sharp and swift fall," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The BSE Sensex gained 152 points to close at 20,310 and the NSE Nifty gained 50 points to close at 6,126.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE Bank index was the top gainer the index gained 2.4%, followed by BSE Pharma index gained 1.1%, the BSE Auto index advanced 0.8% and BSE IT index added 0.7%.

The broader indices ended mixed, the BSE Mid-Cap index ended higher by 0.3% and BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.3%.

The European indices were trading in the red, the DAX in Germany was down 0.2%, the CAC 40 index in France was down 0.3% and FTSE index ended lower by 0.4%.

Outside the frontline indices, the big losers in the broader market were Hindustan Copper, Pantaloon Retail, Jain Irrigation and NFL. On the other hand, gainers included Syndicate Bank, Federal Bank, M&M Fin and Vijaya Bank.