Sensex closes around day's high

The markets closed for the day with the BSE benchmark index gaining 466 points at 19,728 and the Nifty added 136 points at 5,922.
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(Updated at 1446 hrs)

The Sensex rally continues. After coming from a market holiday yesterday and before going into the next holiday, the BSE benchmark staged a smart recovery to kick start the earning scene on a positive note before Infosys declares their numbers on Friday. The gains were primarily led by the Capital Goods, Auto and Banking scrips. The Nifty has gained 103 points at 5,888 while the Sensex added 353 points at 19,616

Earlier the day, the Sensex opened in the red at 19,187. However, as the trading progressed, the BSE benchmark index steadily moved north only to register a high of 19,625. This is up 524 points from the day's low.  The broader markets too participated in the upswing. The smallcap and the midcap indices added 1% each but were underperforming the resilient Sensex, up 1.8%

Among the sectors, Metal and Health Care are the only laggards in today's trades. In the Capital Goods space, Siemens and Usha Martin gaining nearly 5% each are the top gainers.  Hero Honda on the back of interim dividend news up 4.7% followed by Apollo Tyres, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors adding 2% each are the movers in the Auto sector.

Yes Bank, Federal Bank up nearly 4% followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank,     ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and IDBI Bank adding 2% each contributed in the banking space.

Among the Sensex- 30 stocks, Jaiprakash Associates up 6%, TCS, L&T, ITC and Wipro gaining between 2-3% are the top gainers. Meanwhile, Sterlite and Tata Power down 0.3% and 0.4% respectively are the only losers on the Sensex.

The market breadth is very positive. Of the total 2970 stocks traded on the BSE, 1900 stocks have advanced while 982 have declined.