Modest gains for Sensex amid volatile day

Indian equity markets ended the day with modest gains, thanks largely to a late afternoon spurt, as investors snapped up beaten down Banks and IT shares. A drop in food inflation for the second successive week and good earnings from the likes of Yes Bank, Biocon, Kotak Mahindra Bank and TVS Motor also helped bolstered the mood on Dalal Street.



Markets opened lower and struggled for direction in the first half before hitting day's low in early afternoon.

However, the key stock indices suddenly roared back to life on the back of suspected short covering in Banking stocks. The NSE Nifty closed above the 5700 levels while the BSE Sensex ended atop 19,000. On the other hand, Oil & Gas, FMCG and select Realty stocks took a beating.

Broader indices closed almost unchanged and the breadth was slightly negative.

"On a day when Asian markets tanked amid concerns about further monetary tightening in China and European markets extended losses, it was a commendable show on the part of the Indian markets. And, if it wasn't for the weakness in index bellwethers Reliance, ONGC and ITC, the key indices could have done much better, Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The BSE Sensex gained 68 points to close at 19,047 and the NSE Nifty added 21 points to end at 5,716.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE Banking index was the top gainer, the index gained 1.7%, BSE IT index was up 1.2% and BSE Teck index was up 0.8%.

On the other hand, BSE Oil & Gas index lost 1.5% followed by BSE FMCG index lost 1.2% and BSE Realty index was down 0.2%.

The European indices were flat, the DAX in Germany was down 0.2%, and the CAC 40 index in France was flat and FTSE index was down 0.8%.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were M&M Fin, Cadila, Indian Bank and Godrej Ind. On the other hand, losers included United Spirits, Thermax, Crompton Greaves and APIL.