Sensex gains for 3rd straight day...Nifty above 5700

Markets gained for a third straight trading session, extending previous week's slender gains in what will be an eventful but truncated week. Today’s rally was led by Banking stocks as major lenders like SBI and ICICI Bank announced better than expected quarterly numbers.

Consumer Durables, PSU and Capital Goods stocks were among the other major gainers. The broader indices also saw decent buying, as both the BSE Mid-Cap and the BSE Small-Cap indices ended with smart gains.



However, the Oil & Gas index was a laggard today. Reliance Industries was more or less subdued after posting results that were in line with market estimates. Select Pharma, FMCG and IT stocks also closed in the red.

"The NSE Nifty seems to have bounced back from the recent lows when it very nearly breached the 200-day moving average. Last week was more of a consolidation for the Indian market. This week is crucial as the RBI is set to review its monetary policy on Jan. 25. It is likely to hike rates by 25 bps. The F&O expiry on Thursday will make things a little more interesting," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The BSE Sensex gained 143 points to close at 19,151 and the NSE Nifty gained 47 points to end at 5,743.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE Banking index was the top gainer, the index gained 2.3%, BSE Consumer Durable index was up 1.7% and BSE Capital Goods index was up 1.3%. The BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.8% and BSE Small-Cap index 0.8%.

On the other hand, BSE Oil & Gas index edged lower by 0.2% followed by BSE Pharma index marginally slipped 0.2%.

The European indices were trading mixed, the DAX in Germany was down 0.3%, and the CAC 40 index in France was almost unchanged and FTSE index was up 0.2%.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were NFL, Indian Bank, Educomp and Zee Ent. On the other hand, losers included Exide Ind, Marico, JSW Energy and Asian Paints.