Sensex spurts on global bounce...Realty, Banking stocks rally

After being under pressure in the previous trading session, benchmark Indian stock indices managed to recover some of the lost ground. The Indian markets ended with smart gains ahead of the RBI's mid-quarter monitory policy review on Thursday.

Today’s rally was led by Banking stocks, with heavyweights like SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank among the top gainers. Realty, Consumer Durables and PSU indices were among the other notable gainers.



The BSE Sensex gained 191 points to close at 18,359. It had earlier touched a day's high of 18,444 and a day's low of 18,263. It opened at 18,263. While, the NSE Nifty rose 62 points to close at 5,511.

Rel Infra, Ambuja Cement, ICICI Bank, TCS, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, M&M, DLF, Rel Power, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank and Dr Reddy were the front runners on the BSE and NSE, while, Hinustan Unilever, Hindalco Inds, Hero Honda, HDFC, Cipla and Gail were the notable losers on the BSE and NSE.

"Today's advance was largely due to the worldwide rebound in equities following some relief from the constant bad news emanating from Japan. The RBI is most likely to hike rates by 25 bps when it holds its mid-quarter review on Thursday," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The Indian markets will continue to be at the mercy of overseas developments in Japan, the eurozone and the Middle East. Stay cautious and don’t get brave as yet as the offshore situation remains fragile and volatile," he adds.

Sentiment across Asian markets got a fillip after reports that radiation level from the battered Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power complex had dropped and a fresh fire had been doused this morning.

Assurances from the IAEA about the risks to human lives from the Japanese nuclear disaster also helped sooth some frayed nerves.

A positive outlook from the US Federal Reserve and lower oil prices also played a role in shoring up the morale.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were Central Bank, TVS Motors, EIH and Welcorp. On the other hand, losers included Mphasis, Jain Irrigation, Thermax and Nestle.

In Asia, the Nikkei in Tokyo jumped by over 5% while other stock benchmarks posted moderate gains. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped into the negative zone but recovered to finish flat. The Shanghai Composite in china was up 1.1% while the Kospi in South Korea rose 1.8%.

European stock benchmarks opened higher but soon revered most of the early gains and turned lower. The FTSE in London and the CAC in Paris were down 0.8% each while the DAX in Germany was down marginally.

Banking shares in Europe fell after Portugal's rating was cut by Moody's.

Meanwhile, in Bahrain the stock market was shut due to the state of emergency declared by the government there. Violence in Bahrain capital Manama intensified after security forces mounted an offensive against the mostly Shiite Muslim protesters. Crude oil came off a two-week high in New York.

US stock futures were pointing to a lower start on Wall Street.