Markets Started the Week on a Strong Note

Markets started the week on a strong note with both the Sensex and the Nifty clocking gains of over 1 per cent by close. Earlier in the day, the Sensex touched a low of 16,046 amidst volatility as weakness persisted in interest rate sensitive stocks. However, a recovery in the European markets and buying in oil and gas stocks helped the index to recover over 320 points and touch a high of 16,370. The BSE benchmark finally ended at 16,342 up 200 points, while the Nifty ended up 53 points at 4,899. In Europe, the CAC 40 index gained 1.4% at 3,060 and the FTSE was up 1.3% at 5,105. European markets had dropped in intra-day trade as investors worried about the sluggish US economic outlook and Europe's festering debt crisis. Going ahead, the investors would be looking towards Ben Bernanke's speech on monetary easing and a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) on Friday. In India BSE oil & gas index recovered 3.5% from its lows of the day and ended at 8,357. BSE power, FMCG and capital goods indices also moved up in trades. BSE Bankex was down marginally in trades. BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2,922 stocks traded, 1,803 advanced while 1,018 declined.