Late surge propels Bulls; Sensex ends 173 points higher

The Indian markets gained momentum in the late trade on the back of heavy buying activity and closed at three-month high. The Sensex up 173 points and the Nifty up 56 points.

Headlines for the day

India's services sector grows at fastest pace in 6 months
PM expects 7 to 7.5% GDP growth in FY12
Tantia Constructions spurts on rights issue plan
Dr Reddys Q3 consolidated net profit jumps by 88%



Indian indices
A sudden buying interest in the mid-afternoon session helped Indian markets break its narrow range trade. The markets were dull and directionless for most part of the session. Strong gains in realty, pharma, power, FMCG, banking and oil & gas led the markets to close the trade in the positive zone. The Nifty surpassed the 5300 mark for the first time since October 31, 2011. Stronger Indian rupee alongwith heavy foreign funds boosted markets. Positive European cues also aided sentiments.
Sensex movement: The Sensex opened the session on a flat note, up by 12 points at 17444. The index was stuck in a tight range for most part of the trade. In the late trade, the index touched the day's high of 17631 on rush in buying activity. The Sensex rose 173 points to close at 17605 and the Nifty settled 56 points higher at 5326.
Market sentiment
The market breadth stood in favour of advances. Of the 2995 stocks traded on the BSE, 1717 (57.33%) rose, 1166 (38.93%) fell and 112 (3.74%) remained unchanged.
Viewing volumes
India's second largest developer - Unitech was traded the most, with over 0.56 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that Wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy - (0.54 crore shares), a major Indian telecommunication company - Reliance Communications (0.50 crore shares), the leading integrated steel makers - JSW Ispat Steel (0.38 crore shares) and the world’s largest producer of plastic water tank - Sintex Industries (0.36 crore shares).
Sectoral & stock screening
All the sectors closed in green zone barring BSE Metal down by 1.09%. Toppers of the day - BSE Realty up by 2.15%, BSE HC up by 1.69% and BSE Power up by 1.49%.
Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers - Bajaj FinServ surged by 8.81%, Tata Global Beverages gained by 8.27% and CESC jumped by 6.86%. Top three losers - Reliance Communications dropped by 3.30%, Hindalco Industries slid by 3.08% and Hindustan Copper fell by 3.01%
Global Indices:
The European share prices edged up on Friday (February 3, 2012) to hit a new six-month high, helped by encouraging macroeconomic data in the euro zone and the UK, and as investors awaited the latest US employment figures.
The Asian stock markets closed mixed on Friday, ahead of a US jobs report that is a key gauge of how robust the world's No. 1 economy is.
The US stock index futures pointed to a higher open on the Wall Street on Friday.
Market Outlook: US Data releases on Friday — Employment Situation, Factory Orders and ISM Non-Manufacturing Index.