Sensex scores 358...Nifty ends above 5500

After failing to drive home the advantage in the previous session, the bulls managed to dominate the proceedings on Indian bourses in today’s session. Although a five-day losing sequence was broken on Wednesday, it lacked the punch and strength. But, today was different, with the BSE Sensex cracking a triple ton and the NSE Nifty nearly clocking a triple-digit gain.



From start-to-end, it was a Large-Cap rally although the broader indices did manage modest gains. The rebound was led by Realty, Banking, Metals and Capital Goods stocks. The defensives such as Consumer Durables, FMCG and Pharma stocks posted slender gains, along with IT shares.

But, notwithstanding the two-day recovery, the Nifty continues to trade below the 200-DMA. So, the big question is will the current rally sustain for long? For the time being, traders and investors are a relieved lot after being on the receiving end for the past few sessions.

Going forward, the market’s direction would hinge on how the Government acts on the policy front after a dismal first year of UPA II. In this context, the Union Budget will be a crucial event. Inflation continues to be a major headache for the policymakers and some concrete steps must be taken to curtail the same. Today, the market completely ignored the spike in food inflation to 17%, says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The BSE Sensex gained 359 points to close at 18,449 and the NSE Nifty rose 95 points to end at 5,527.

The European indices were mixed, the DAX in Germany was up 0.2%, and the CAC 40 index in France was down 0.9% and FTSE index was down 0.3%.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were NFL, Renuka Sugars, Syndicate Bank and Sintex. On the other hand, losers included Cummins India, Voltas, OFSS and Shree Cement.

DLF, Jaiprakash Asso, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco Inds, Tata Motors, L&T, Reliance Infra, SBI, Hero Honda, BHEL, RIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Sterlite Inds, Tata Steel, Ambuja Cement, Power Grid and SBIN are leading in the Sensex and Nifty.

Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, Dr Reddy, ACC, Ranbaxy and IDFC are the notable losers in the Sensex and Nifty.