Sensex retreats from 11000; Infy results eyed

Indian equities ended higher on Monday mirroring other markets which rose on expectations of revivial in US economy. The indices crossed

crucial psychological levels during the trade but gave away most gains towards close of session. Cautious traders booked profits ahead of local holiday and Infosys results.

Investors have been showing lot of interest with most stocks still available at attractive valuations, said dealers. Traders lappe stocks like Rolta India and Gateway Distriparks.

"We caught up with the US markets which rallied over 3 per cent ahead of Easter holiday. Banking sector looked strong from the beginning. PSU banks had not participated in the recent upmove and thus they raced ahead. Markets are likely to be volatile and take cues from Infosys results and a lot also depends on the US markets," said Rahul Jain, head, India sales at Prabhudas Lilladher.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 3382.60, up 40.55points or 1.21 per cent from Thursday. The index touched a high of 3417.80 and low of 3334.15.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 10,967.22, up 163.36 points or 1.51 per cent. The 30-share index touched a high of 11069.54 after six months. It touched a low of 10800.84 in the day.

"Profit booking emerged close to 3435 which is also the 200 DMA. If the benchmarks manage to break out from here then 11500-11700 looks a possibility. However, profit booking ahead of these levels is not ruled out," Jain added.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 3.17 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved up 3.92 per cent. Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Metal Index ended 5.49 per cent higher, BSE Bankex gained 5.07 per cent and BSE Realty Index was up 4.14 per cent.

BSE IT Index ended marginally lower despite a high profile takeover of Satyam Computer by Tech Mahindra. Wary traders kept their positions light in IT stocks before Infosys announces its quarterly results Wednesday. Shares of Satyam Computer closed over 3 per cent up while Tech Mahindra gained 12 per cent.

Biggest Nifty gainers were Tata Motors (11.99%), Suzlon Energy (9.83%), Tata Steel (8%), ABB (7.69%), Sterlite Industries (7.46%) and State Bank of India (6.64%).

GAIL (-3.93%), BPCL (-3.77%), NALCO (-2.71%), Wipro (-2.08%) and Grasim (-1.82%) and Tata Consultancy Services (-1.71%) were the top index losers.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 2,064 advances and 514 declines while 64 shares remained unchanged.

The next trading session will be crucial for the markets as Infosys unveils its quarterly results and guides for FY09-10. However, analysts expect the IT bellwether to give disappointing guidance for the next year.