Markets end higher led by banks

BSE Bankex gains 2.5%

Benchmark shares indices ended nearly 2% up on Thursday, amid firm European cues, led by banks, oil and gas shares.

The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended up 294 points or 1.8% at 16,242 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 93 points or 1.9% at 4,929.

 

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(Updated at 14:21 hrs)

Benchmark Indices continue to trade firm amid volatility led by buying among led by financials, oil and gas shares. At 1420 hrs, the Sensex was up 158 points at 16,106 and the 50-share Nifty gained 48 points at 4,884.

On the global front, Asian markets ended on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei average bounced to a modest gain on Thursday after a last-minute rally, likely triggered by a bout of short-covering in low volume by short-term investors as long-term market players stood still amid euro zone uncertainty.

The euro hovered above a 22-month low and European shares saw a fragile recovery, as investors braced for data that could reveal the damage wrought on the region's economy by prospects of a Greek exit and a lack of progress in tackling the debt crisis.

Back home, barring Auto, all the sectoral indices are trading in green zone. BSE Oil & Gas index has spurted by almost 2% followed by counters like Banks, Metal and Technology, all gaining by nearly 1% each.

ONGC is the top Sensex gainer, up almost 5% as the subsidy burden on the company would get reduced after the government late Wednesday hiked petrol prices.

From the banking and financial space, mortgage lender HDFC gained over 3%. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have gained by nearly 1%.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel have gained by nearly 3% after Wednesday's sharp fall. Mobile service providers had witnessed selling pressure ahead of the Telecom Commission meeting scheduled today to consider the TRAI's recommendation on auction of 2G spectrum.

Other notable Sensex gainers include Hindalco, JSPL, Wipro, GAIL, L&T, NTPC and Infosys.

On the losing side, auto shares are witnessing profit booking on concerns that the petrol hike would further slowdown sales of petrol driven vehicles. The hike in petrol price will severely affect the sales of entry level cars, which are mainly petrol driven. This will also, result in inventory pile up of petrol vehicles as more and more consumers will opt for diesel vehicles, according to a PTI report. Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp and Tata Motors are down 0.02-1% each.
 
BSE market breadth remains positive with 1,376 stocks advancing and 1,113 stocks declining.