Markets End on a Positive Note

The Indian markets ended the last session of the week on a positive note. Buying on heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ITC and ICICI Bank. The Sensex closed at 16,821, up145 points and the Nifty ended at 5,040, up 39 points. Both the indices ended higher for the third consecutive day and clocked a gain of six per cent for the week. On the global front Asian markets ended in the red, snapping two sessions of gains. European markets also opened lower; FTSE, CAC and DAX slipped between 1% and 2% each as investors turned cautious ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls data. IT shares were the worst hit on concerns of a cut in IT spending in Europe and the United States. From the broader markets, midcap index surged 0.8 per cent, but the small cap index fell 0.1 per cent. The market breadth was positive; 1,660 stocks advanced for 1,157 shares which declined on the BSE.