Markets End in Green

Markets rallied over 1% as they cheered the ruling congress party’s ally (Trinamool Congress) victory in the key state of West Bengal which may strengthen the image of the graft tainted government. Markets opened in the red and touched a low of 5,472 in opening trades, but quickly turned positive in the morning session as news of preliminary state election polls unfolded. Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool congress victory in West Bengal provided a ray of hope to the investors that economic reforms which were put on the back seat may take off. The Nifty crawled upwards and touched a high of 5,605. However, profit booking during the last leg of the trading session caused the index to give up partial gains. The S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,545, up 59 points and the Sensex ended at 18,531, up 196 points. For the week both the benchmark indices ended flat. Broader markets underperformed the benchmark. BSE mid-cap index gained 0.8% to 18,531 while small-cap index was up 0.4% to 8,368. All the sectoral indices were in the green, with the FMCG index rallying 2.3% to 3,803. BSE healthcare, auto and bankex were also in the green.BSE market breadth was positive with 1,580 stocks advancing and 1,187 stocks declining.