Sensex ends (provisional) at 18,431 - up 190 points. Nifty ends up 55 points at 5,526.
_______________
(Updated at 1435 hrs)
Markets are poised for a positive close, albeit off the day's high. The Sensex opened in the red but managed to erase early losses on the back of buying in index pivotals. The index touched a high of 18,494 in afternoon trades. However, it pared some gains and was up 184 points at 18,424. Nifty was up 63 points at 5,535.
ONGC and oil marketing companies rallied after government raised fuel prices.
On Friday after market hours Empowered Group of Ministers decided to take a bold step of raising diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre, kerosene by Rs 2 per litre and cooking gas by Rs 50 per cylinder which may boost oil market companies.
However, diesl and cooking coal price hike may further stoke inflation and prompt the Reserve Bank of India to continue with its tightening regime. Analysts said this development will weigh on the markets going forward.
Global markets were up as well. European stocks recoveed from initial lows as miners and car makers posted some of the strongest gains, while bank stocks mostly fell. FTSE and CAC were up marginally at 5,701 and 3,795, respectively. DAX remained in the negative zone. Asian bourses ended in red. Nikkei shed 1%, while Hang Seng and Seoul Composite dropped 0.5% each.
The market is likely to be choppy in the next few days as traders roll over positions in the derivatives segment on Thursday.
"Taking a slightly longer term view, one can say that we are in a downtrend which started when the market peaked in November last year. This downtrend is still very much intact. It is quite possible that the Nifty will break 5000 and move lower. Nevertheless, this downtrend does not seem to be as bad a bear market as the one in 2008, when the broad market lost about 65% from peak valuations, and many stocks lost more than 75-80%, " said Hormuz Maloo, Technical Analyst, Geojit BNP Paribas
BSE PSU, Oil & gas, bankex and auto indices gained 1-2% each in trades.
Oil Inia was the biggest gainer among oil & gas stocks and climbed 6% to Rs 1,357. HPCL, BPCL and IOC were up 3-5% each. ONGC, among Sensex stocks, surged 4.3% to Rs 285.
Yes Bank, Federal Bank and Union Bank were the gainers in the banking stocks. ICICI Bank and SBI were up around 1% each.
However, weakness was witnessed in readlty and FMCG sectors. HDIL dropped 2.6% to Rs 157. SuntecK Realty, Phoenix Mills, DB Realty and DLF were also in red.
BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2,856 stocks traded, 1,607 advanced while 1,117 delcined.
