Sensex ends up 482pts

The Sensex has ended (provisional) at 16,178 - up 482 points. Nifty ends up 149 points at 4,859.
_________________________________
(Updated at 1435 hrs)

Markets have extended gains in late noon trades on sustained buying in metal and realty shares. The Sensex, after a firm opening, rose to a high of 16,134. The index is now up 430 points at 16,125. Nifty is up 131 pointsat 4,841.

Asian markets rose on hopes Europe will come closer to a euro zone bail-out fund. The euro rose on a report that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was preparing an aid package for Italy, but later pared gains after doubts were cast on the report. In Asia, Nikkei surged 1.6% to 8,287. Hang Seng was up 2% at 18,037. European markets also opened on a firm note. CAC and DAX advanced around 2% each in opening deals.

Market heavyweight, Reliance, was the top contributor to Sensex's pmove and jumped 3.2% at Rs 778. The Reliance group and Bharti have terminated talks on the proposed acquisition of Bharti's 74 per cent shareholding in two insurance companies — Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co and Bharti AXA General Insurance Co — by Reliance.

BSE metal index shone in trades and went up 4% to 10,253. BSE realty, bankex and oil & gas indices were up 2.6% each.

Metal shares led gainsbacked by a softer dollar and hopes Italy may secure financial aid as Europe takes steps this week to ease funding strains on the euro zone's troubled economies, . Hindalco soared 6% to Rs 121. Jindal Steel and Sterlite added 3.6% each. Tata Steel was up 2.8%.

"It is possible that the short term uptrend has some way still to go on the upside, so one should remain invested for now. However traders should look to sell at slightly higher levels when this short term uptrend shows signs of peaking. It is difficult to set any targets for this short term uptrend - it can turn downwards any time, or it may extend up to around 5200 at best," said Hormuz Maloo, Technical Analyst, Geojit BNP Paribas Securities.

Auto shares gained on hopes of petrol prices falling once again this week, in line with international prices. Tata Motors rose 4.5% to Rs 180. Maruti Suzuki gained 3.8%. Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto slipped 2% to Rs 1,609.

BSE market breadth was fairly positive. Out of 2,743 shares traded, 1,831 shares advanced while 831 shares declined in trades.