Markets End on High Note

Markets ended on an upbeat note following positive news of Greece bail out by European Union and gains in banking shares after Axis Bank reported upbeat results. The Nifty index opened in the green at 5,577 and moved steadily higher underpinned by rally in front-line banking stocks-Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank. The index touched a high of 5,642 in the afternoon session and ended near day’s high at 5,634, up 92 points and the benchmark Sensex rallied 286 points, at 18,722. The markets may take cues from Reliance Industries earnings on Monday and the Reserve Bank of India's policy on Tuesday on rate hike. It is heard that the economists are expecting that the RBI will pause the tightening cycle when it meets on Tuesday, after raising rates by another 25 basis points. On the global front, the second bail out of Greece by European Union at $1.57 billion pepped up risk appetitive for equities and indices across Asia notched over 1% gains. The market breadth is positive with 1715 advances as against 1188 declines on the BSE.