Markets end special trading session on a positive note

Sensex gains 53 pts

Markets ended Saturday's special trading session on a positive note with the BSE Sensex having ended at 17,187, up 53 points and the Nifty at 5,209, up 18 points.

Meanwhile, Wall Street gained overnight as upbeat corporate results outweighed a weaker-than-expected report on first-quarter economic growth. The Dow added 23 points to 13,228. Nasdaq and S&P 500 also moved up in trades.

On the sectoral front, PSU, Realty and Metal shares were among the top gainers. BSE Bankex advanced 1% to 11,760 buoyed by gains in heavyweights - ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. Shares of Axis Bank were up 2% at Rs 1,121 after the bank, after market hours Friday, reported a 25% jump in its net profit at Rs 1,277.27 crore for the fourth quarter of the 2011-12 fiscal. The bank had recorded a profit of Rs 1,020.11 crore in the January-March quarter of 2010-11, Axis Bank said in a statement.

Meanwhile, some selling pressure was witnessed in the IT index and the Oil & Gas index, which ended marginally down.

Maruti Suzuki was up 1.3% at Rs 1,397 ahead of its numbers which are expected later today. Metal shares gained smartly. NMDC and Sterlite Industries added 2-3% each to Rs 176 and Rs 106, respectively.

On the Sensex, Sterlite Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank and Jindal Steel, up 1-2% each, were the prominent gainers. Jindal Steel & Power has gained after the company late Friday reported a 16.50% rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,167 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 compared with Rs 1,002 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The losers from the pack were Reliance Industries, TCS, Bharti AIrtel, L&T and Coal India, down marginally.

BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2,190 stocks traded, 1,120 shares advanced while640 shares delcined.