Bulls Enjoy Upper Hand, Markets End Higher

The Indian markets ended on a positive note, with the markets trading in a narrow range. The Nifty closed with a positive bias at 5922 and Sensex was 100 points higher at 19,560. Both indices were higher in the range of 0.42%-0.52%. Nifty has managed to hold the 5900 level despite the poor IIP numbers, which contracted by -0.6 %.

The advance-decline ratio was negative by the end of the day. On the NSE, 904 shares were in losses and 530 shares ended in positives.

Top 5 NSE Gainers: ONGC was the top gainer, up by 3.77%. Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Tata Motors and Coal India were also higher.

Top 5 NSE Losers: Jindal Steel ended down by 3.50%, followed by IDFC, ACC, DLF and Infosys.

Among the Asian markets, those of Hong Kong, Japan and China were closed today to mark the lunar new year.

Most of sectors ended in the positive territory. Oil & Gas ended up, followed by Banks, Auto and Healthcare.

On the global front, the European markets are inching up. CAC 14 is trading higher by 0.21%, DAX has gained 0.18% and FTSE 22 has gained by 0.17%.

Buzzers: The stocks of select Oil & Gas companies saw good volumes and the sector up by 1.52%. ONGC rallied up more than 3.5% and closed at Rs 320.

The Healthcare sector was up by 1.19%. The stocks of Apollo Hospitals, Aurobindo Pharma, Biocon, Cadila Healthcare and Cipla closed the day in the green.

SAIL announced its Q3 result, where its net was down by 23%. Following this, the stock was down by 0.13 % and closed at Rs 81.

The Nifty manage to hold on to the 5900 mark, which is a crucial support level on the daily charts. After this positive move, 5950 and 5975 are important hurdles.