The markets had a good session of trade, with the Sensex reclaiming the 20k closing mark after a month and the Nifty regaining the 6000-mark. The Sensex ended at 20060, higher by 171 points and the Nifty ended exactly at 6001, up 54 points. The midcap index ended at 7618, higher by 59 points and the smallcap index shut shop at 9308, up 87 points.
The Sensex had scaled the 20k peak in the early part of the session, in a mirror image of the previous session, thanks to an encouraging set of cues from the Asian front. And it was merely consolidation time for the BSE benchmark from thereon, culminating in a comfortable close above the psychological mark in what was a welcome departure from the trading pattern of the previous session. The Nifty, however, did face stiff resistance around the 6000 levels, but managed to finally close just above the mark. We have closed above the 20k mark for the first time since November 15.
Asia ended in the green as reports of easing tension between the Korean neighbours lifted the sentiment across the board. And major European indices had added nearly a percent each in mid-day trades mainly on account of strength in the euro.
Metals carried on from where they left in the previous session as LMEX, a gauge of six metals, closed at two-and-half year highs on the London Metal Exchange (LME) yesterday. Lead, zinc and copper prices had appreciated 2-3% on the LME overnight. And steel prices for near February month contract on the NCDEX gained by Rs 360, or 1.36%, to Rs 26,740 per tonne. True to the positive sentiment, Sterlite soared by 4.6% at Rs 176 to emerge as the leading gainer on the BSE. Hindalco spurted by 4.4% at Rs 233, while Tata Steel gained 1.6% at Rs 675 and Jindal Steel jumped 1.4% at Rs 685.
Banking and realty, which were laggards in the previous session, also came into prominence. In the banking space, ICICI Bank strengthened by 3.5% at Rs 1138, HDFC Bank added 1.8% at Rs 2212 and SBI gained 1.4% at Rs 2743. And the realty space saw the likes of DLF hardening by 1.9% at Rs 284 and Unitech adding 2.2% at Rs 63.
On the losers side, Hero Honda witnessed profit-booking after the stellar gains of the previous session. The auto major shed 0.7% at Rs 1966. Bharti Airtel and Infosys, which had also run up considerably in the recent past till Monday, lost 0.6% each at Rs 332 and Rs 3329 respectively.
The market breadth was positive. Out of 3016 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1760 advancing stocks as against 1091 declines.
