Sensex see-saws before closing 29 pts higher

Sensex swinged by 174 points in intra-day trades.

Stock market indices see-sawed today, with the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex swinging 174 points during the day, as investors and marketmen waited for the Congress-led coalition to appoint a Cabinet.

The Sensex fell 127.21 points in intra-day trading to the day's low of 4,804.90, before recovering to close at 4,961.57, up 0.60 per cent (29.46 points) from yesterday' close.

A dealer at a local brokerage said, "The sentiment was affected by the bickering between the Congress and its allies over Cabinet posts, and this could have led to the volatility today." Brokers expect the market to remain range-bound till greater clarity emerges.

The rupee gained about six paise today against the dollar to close at 45.27/29 against yesterday's closing level of 45.33/35 in a day of volatile trading.

The rupee dipped during the day to 45.43 as banks stepped up dollar purchases on behalf of foreign funds. With the equity market recovering its losses during the day, the rupee gained as the demand for dollars slowed down.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year paper marginally rose today to 5.20 per cent from 5.18 per cent yesterday.

Opening weak and falling further in early trades amid fears that trouble was brewing among the coalition partners of the new Congress-led alliance over Cabinet formation, the stock market recovered in late afternoon trades after some allies issued statements that they had not demanded any particular ministries.

Jitendra Panda, vice-president, retail, Motilal Oswal Securities, said, "The markets are cautious ahead of the Cabinet formation and will be looking for positive indicators like the common minimum programme and the Budget in the short term." He added that the fundamentals remained good and the undertone is positive.

The BSE PSU index was the biggest gainer in a lack-lustre market, gaining 0.97 per cent, followed by FMCG sector index, up 0.64 per cent.