Nifty extends gains, up 71 pts

NSE benchmark Nifty extended gains for the third consecutive session today following sustained buying in energy, metal, FMCG, auto and IT counters.
However, the Nifty Bank index underperformed as investors turned cautious ahead of the outcome of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
Overseas, European stocks were mixed. Asian stocks gained after strong factory data and the prospect of US tax cuts boosted confidence in the global economy.
US equities closed at record highs yesterday, as Wall Street kicked off the fourth quarter on a high note following optimism about a recovery in manufacturing.
The Nifty opened higher at 9,893.30 and moved in a range of 9,895.40 and 9,831.05 before ending at 9,859.50, up 70.90 points, or 0.72 per cent, from its last close.

It saw an intra-day movement of about 64.35 points.

On the sectoral front, Energy rose by 1.35 per cent, followed by Metal 1.22 percent, FMCG 1.09 percent, Auto 0.86 percent, IT 0.68 percent, Finance Service 0.61 per cent, Pharma 0.46 per cent and Private Bank 0.36 per cent.
However, PSU Bank and Infra fell 0.62 per cent and 0.25 per cent, respectively.
Major index gainers were GAIL, Tata Motors, Bharti Infratel, Indiabulls Housing Finance and UPL.
Losers were Powergrid, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Maruti, SBI, Bosch Ltd, L&T and Eicher Motors.
The broader markets extended their gains as both the Nifty midcap and smallcap indices rose 0.51 per cent and 0.61 per cent, respectively.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was in favour of gainers. On the NSE, 896 stocks advanced, 801 declined and 88 stocks remained unchanged.
Total securities that hit their price bands were 151.
Turnover in the cash segment fell to Rs 25,676.47 crore from Rs 26,335.26 crore last Friday.
A total of 10,928.57 lakh shares changed hands in 9,975,919 trades. The market capitalisation of listed firms on the NSE stood at Rs 1,32,17,149.17 crore.