Market sentiment improves on easing inflation; Nifty up 15 pts

The benchmark CNX Nifty recovered from its massive overnight plunge and advanced modestly by 15 points but settled below the 6,000 mark on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today on the back of easing headline inflation amid hopes of interest rate cut at RBI's next month meeting.
The key index had plunged 127 points yesterday, the biggest single-session drop this year, spooked by concerns over ballooning current account and trade deficits as well as profit booking after the recent rally.
Market opened on an upbeat note and edged higher on the back of some bargain hunting though sentiment remained cautious ahead of the wholesale price inflation data and huge unwinding in frontline Tata Steel and Ranbaxy stocks.

Overcoming the initial range-bound trading, the 50-share index picked up momentum and rallied to retrace the 6,000 level on bargain hunting and some short-covering.
Even though headline inflation declined significantly below the RBI's comfort levels, market reacted negatively and slipped into the red briefly before staging a recovery.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) fell sharply to over three-year low of 4.89 per cent in April, giving the Apex Bank some space to further ease interest rate.

Healthcare, energy, infra, finance and technology stocks attracted good buying interest. FMCG and metal shares remained under intense selling pressure.
Globally, Asian stocks ended mixed on doubts about the possibility of further monetary support from China's central bank to boost its economy.

The Nifty oscillated between a high of 6,026.20 and a low of 5,970.05 before concluding at 5,995.40, a gain of 14.95 points, or 0.25 per cent, over the last close.
Ranbaxy topped the gainers' list after losing ground in early trade, reacting to news that the US Government fined USD 500 million after its subsidiary pleaded guilty to sale of adulterated drugs manufactured in India.
Other notable gainers from the Nifty pack included Bank of Baroda, Sun Pharma, PowerGrid, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, PNB, Asian Paint and Tata Motors.
Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Auto, HCL, BHEL, JP Associates, DLF, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, M&M and RIL were among the key losers.

Turnover in the cash segment declined to Rs 8,922.57 crore from Rs 9,241.88 crore yesterday. A total of 4,608.88 lakh shares changed hands in 49,119,73 trades. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 65,62,307 crore.