Markets End Firm in Green

Markets closed in the green after three consecutive days of losses buoyed by gains in auto and realty shares. However, investors continue to remain watchful of the developments in west Asia. The Nifty opened at 5,391 and scaled to a high of 5,428 followed by positive cues from the Asian peers as radiation concerns from Japan eased. The S&P CNX Nifty held on to the gains and closed up 49 points, at 5414 and the benchmark Sensex advanced 149 points, at 17,988. In west Asia, coalition forces renewed air strikes on Libya, intensifying the skirmish and stoking fears of oil supply. Brent Crude fell 0.5% at 114.63, below $115 mark. Back in India, the government introduced a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill into parliament today but the opposition immediately threatened adjournment on back of cash-for-votes scandal. Top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel, up 2.7%, JP Associates advanced 2.1% and HDFC zoomed 1.7%. Reliance Industries gained 1.1% after declining 5.4% in the past three days. Only four components on the Sensex ended in the red, Jindal Steel and TCS declined 0.3% each, ICICI Bank was off 0.2%, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto ended flat. Broader markets also ended in the green, the midcap and small cap indices were up 0.8% and 0.5% each. Market breadth was positive, 1555 stocks advanced for 1294 stocks which declined.