Markets End on a Flat Note

The markets pared early gains to end on a flat note on the last day of the week. The Sensex brushed off cues from global peers as investors took to booking profits. The BSE benchmark traded on a steady manner this afternoon and touched a high of 18,736 - recovering over 1,000 points from last week's low, as the upmove triggered by Monday's Budget showed no signs of hitting a roadblock. However, the index gave up its gains in late-noon trades and ended flat at 18,736 - down two points. The Nifty closed at 5,539 - up three points. Bullishness was noticed across the global markets (US overnight, Asia and Europe in today's session) with hopes of a fillip to financial sector reforms. The Dow jumped nearly 200 points overnight, scoring its best one-day rally in three months, due to a pullback in oil prices and upbeat US labour market data. And the cheer rubbed on worldwide, with the benchmark indices across Asia trading higher by upto 2% each and the European markets also looking good across the board. The union cabinet's clearance of the the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2011 on Thursday seem to have bolstered the sentiment back home. Investors also heaved a sigh of relief as oil retreated from 2-1/2 year highs on profit taking after Venezuela pitched a plan to resolve the Libyan crisis.