Markets Close above the 17K; Strong Buying Witnessed in IT Stocks

Markets ended near the day's high on sustained buying in IT stocks. The Sensex shrugged off global cues and opened on a firm note. The index touched a high of 17,135 and finally ended up 354 points, at 17,099. Nifty crossed the 5,100 mark and ended up 108 points at 5,140. In Europe, bourses opened in the red but managed to recover. The DAX jumped 1.2% to 5,481. CAC and FTSE have gone up 0.5% each. Asian markets ended in green with Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite gaining 0.5% each. Nikkei caught up with Monday's losses and ended down 1.6% at 8,721. BSE IT index has jumped 3.2% to 5,218 on a declining rupee. Indian rupee fell to Rs 48.23, its weakest level in two years today. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a majority share of revenue from exports. Interest rate sensitive stocks rose across the board with the BSE Bankex, Metal, Realty and Auto indices advancing 1-2% each. Reliance was the biggest contributor to the Sensex up move with around 51 points. BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2,916 stocks traded, 1,832 stocks advanced while 952 stocks declined.