Nifty gains for 5th day...Sensex ends above 18500

The pre-budget rally continues on Dalal Street, with the Indian indices extending its winning streak to a fifth straight trading session after Government data showed a steep decline in food inflation. The NSE Nifty ended just below the 5550 level while the BSE Sensex closed above 18,500 level.

Today’s strong rally was led by Banking, Capital Goods and Auto stocks. Only the Realty index on the BSE witnessed selling pressure. The BSE Mid-Cap and the Small-Cap index gained 1% each.



"Although we have recovered smartly after a three-week drubbing, doubts still persist about the continuation of the rally. The current consolidation may continue for a few days before the move towards 5690. What happens after that is anybody’s guess. So, be careful and tread cautiously even as the bias remains positive for now," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The BSE Sensex rose 206 points to end at 18,507 and the NSE Nifty ended higher by 65 points to close at 5,546.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE Capital Goods index was the top gainer, the index gained 2%, BSE Banking index was up 1.5% and BSE Auto index was up 1%. Even the BSE Mid-Cap and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1% each.

Only BSE Realty index lost 0.9%.

The European markets were trading flat with negative bias, the FTSE index was slightly down 0.2%, CAC index was down 0.2% and DAX index was flat.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were Tata Global, Jain Irrigation, Century Tex and Educomp. On the other hand, losers included Jubilant Life, Sun TV, Godrej Cons and HCL Tech.