SENSEX 17451.02 +40.45
NIFTY 5225.30 +20.10
RS/$ 45.49 -00.01
Equity benchmarks picked up steam in the last half hour of trade Tuesday after being choppy for a major part of the session. A smart opening on the back of encouraging cues from global markets gave way to profit booking but indices got back in action in late trade.
Global markets were trading with decent gains Tuesday helped by an overnight rise on Wall Street after the passage of a sweeping US health care measure. Major markets gained by 1 per cent or less, reversing their declines the day before.
However back home, volatility remained high as traders rolled over positions in the derivatives segment from March to the April 2010 series ahead of the F&O expiry of the derivatives contracts on Thursday.
Pharma companies stood out in today's session and there was good momentum in index heavyweight Reliance Industries as well. Volumes have been good in the last 2-3 days and we have observed that 5200 on Nifty held out strongly. Only if it breaks 5200 could we see significant downside for the market. However, we expect the F&O expiry to be above 5200 as there are not many short positions left in the market
National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 5225.30, up 0.39 per cent or 20.10 points from its previous close. The index touched a high of 5243.60 and low of 5193.40 intraday.
Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex shut shop at 17,451.02, higher by 40.45 points or 0.23 per cent. The index came up from a low of 17,356.64 to a high of 17,530.79 in today's trade.
The broader market eked out modest gains as well. BSE Midcap Index gained 0.21 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index climbed 0.3 per cent.
Sectorally, BSE Healthcare Index was up 1.54 per cent, BSE Oil&Gas Index rose 1.13 per cent, BSE Power Index advanced 0.88 per cent and BSE Metal Index climbed 0.83 per cent. Meanwhile, BSE Realty Index dropped 0.71 per cent and BSE Auto Index edged down 0.52 per cent.
On a stock-specific note, Cipla and Piramal Healthcare were in demand after the latter bought the rights for Cipla's emergency contraceptive drug brand, i-pill, for Rs 95 crore. Cipla shares surged 2.59 per cent to Rs 342 while Piramal Healthcare climbed 3.76 per cent to Rs 426.45.
Biggest Sensex gainers were HDFC Bank (2.52%), Tata Power (1.45%), Reliance Industries (1.43%), Tata Steel (1.2%) and NTPC (0.84%).
Index laggards comprised Bharti Airtel (-3%), Tata Motors (-2.76%), DLF (-2.06%), Grasim Industries (-1.37%) and ACC (-1.3%).
Market breadth on BSE remained negative with 1502 declines against 1264 advances.
The Indian stock market will be closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.