Markets End On a Positive Note

Buying in selected sectors helped the market’s surge ahead in late-noon trades. A recovery in European markets also helped the Sensex to climb to a high of 16,754. The BSE benchmark index finally ended up 242 points at 16,709. The Nifty reclaimed the 5,000-mark and ended up 72 points at 5,013. European bourses after opening in red recovered amid speculation China may still offer support for the region. CAC was up 1.3 per cent at 2,934. FTSE added 0.8 per cent in trades. On the domestic front fears of a high inflation continued to haunt sentiments. Headline inflation inched closer to the double-digit mark in August, rising to 9.78 per cent on the back of soaring prices of food and manufactured products, which may prompt the RBI to continue with its monetary tightening policy. Keeping the inflation numbers in view, RBI’s policy meet will be watched closely. Markets are also likely to watch the corporate advance tax figures which is set to come out on Thursday. The IT index surged 4.5 per cent, Metal, Banks and Oil & Gas indices too close in green. Retail stocks dipped lower as government deferred the approval for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector. BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2,912 stocks traded, 1,527 advanced while 1,268 declined in trades.