Markets End on a Positive Note

The Sensex opened with a positive gap this morning on strong cues from Asian markets. Investors cheered as the ongoing political impasse came into an end after government gave in to the demands of anti corruption activist. The Sensex extended gains in late-noon trades on the back of buying in heavyweights and touched a high of 16,386. The index finally ended up 568 points at 16416. Nifty ended up 172 points at 4,919. Global markets rose today following US Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday. United States Federal Reserve refrained from introducing new measures to bolster the economy, but said that they would take actions to stimulate employment. In other news, the Reserve Bank of India today drafted new norms in which the aggregate foreign shareholding in new banks shall not exceed 49% for the first 5 years. Private sector entities or groups owned and controlled by Indian promoters, with diversified ownership and having a successful track record of at least 10 years, will be eligible to promote banks, said the RBI draft. BSE market breadth was positive. All the sectoral indices ended the day on a positive note led by IT, Metal and Realty indices. Out of 2,940 stocks traded, 2,101 advanced while 729 declined.