Markets End Higher

The markets closed for the day in the positive after swinging between the red and the green. The Sensex was up 75 points at 18,495 and the Nifty added 24 points to close at 5,556. The broader markets, on the other hand, had a good day outperforming the Sensex with both the midcap and the small cap indices adding 0.7% each while the BSE benchmark index gained 0.4%. At the start of the day the markets began on a weak note due to the negative Asian cues. Later a bout of volatility was witnessed as the key benchmark indices slipped into the red after reversing initial losses to register new intraday highs in the afternoon trades. This upmove was mainly due to the recovery in the Asian markets and the Europe market opening strong. The US index futures too rose adding to the positive vibes. Oil & Gas, IT, Health care and Metal indices were the other notable gainers in today's trades. Defensive pharma stocks had a good day with renewed buying interest seen in this space. Cadila Healthcare, Aurobindo Pharma, Genmark, Cipla and Sun Pharma gained in the range of 2-4%. The market breadth was positive. Of the total 2910 stocks traded on the BSE, 1533 stocks had advanced while 1256 declined.