Sensex gains 152pts on late buying

The markets ended a choppy session of trade on a firm note led by short covering in the last leg of trade as traders rolled over positions from June to July series.

The Nifty index opened in green at 5,615 level following firm global cues after Greece government approved the austerity plan. The index moved sideways and touched a low of 5,607 in the afternoon. However, the index crossed the medium term resistance of 5,640 in the last half an hour of trade and touched a high of 5,667. Finally, the S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,647 up 47 points and the Sensex closed at 18,845, up 152 points.

The Nifty crossed the medium-term hurdle of 5,640, but may face strong resistance at the 200 day moving average 5,740 level according to the technical charts. Ravi Nathani, technical analyst, said, "Investors should remain cautious and not get carried away by the relief rally until Nifty crosses 5,700 on a closing basis.” The rally from 5300 to 5600 levels on Nifty was led by FIIs as they have invested Rs 4,312 crore in the Indian equities in the past four sessions.

Ashish Chaturmohta from IIFL Wealth said, "Rollover for the June to July series was around 63-65%, comparatively higher than 60% seen in the May series.  Markets have ended June series on a positive note, snapping losses made in the last two series.”
Food inflation eased to 7.8% for the week ended June 18 from 9.1% in previous week.

Asian markets also ended on a firm note after Greece averted a bail-out and got an approval of a five year austerity plan and assets sale to prop up its ailing economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.5%, China's Shanghai Composite surged 1.2% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.2%.

Back in India from the IT pack, mid-cap firm MindTree rallied 11% and touched a high of Rs 425, but profit booking seeped in and the stock settled at Rs 393 after Ashok Soota, executive chairman sold 5% stake to Global Technology Ventures in a block deal priced at Rs 428 per share.

Fertiliser stocks were trading higher ahead of the government meeting where a decision on giving fertiliser companies freedom to fix the maximum retail price of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) is likely. Among individual stocks, RCF advanced 5.8%, National Fertilisers added 3.4%, Chambal Fertilisers was up 5%.

From the sectoral space, some of FMCG stocks touched all-time highs, taking the BSE FMCG index to a new peak of 4,045. ITC gained 1.6%, to Rs 202 and Hindustan Unilver, up 3% to Rs 343 touched life time high, others such as Tata Global gained 3.8% and Nestle India was up 2.6%.

The BSE Realty index also ended on a firm ground, up 1.2%. Top gainers were Orbit Corporation, up 7.9%, Unitech added 2.7% and Indiabulls Real Estate zoomed 2.7%.

Top gainers on the Sensex were JP Associates, up 3.8%, Jindal Steel gained 3.1% and Tata Power was up 1.7%. Only six components on the Sensex ended in the red, ONGC fell 1.6%, Maruti declined 1.5% and Bharti Airtel was off 1.5%.

The broader markets also ended higher. The BSE mid-cap index added 0.3% and the small-cap index was up 0.6%.

The overall breadth of the market was positive as 1,507 stocks advanced, while 1,337 stocks declined.