Mumbai, Dec 5 (IANS) The Indian equities markets on Monday ended on a higher note, as investors' sentiments were buoyed on hopes of a monetary policy easing and positive global cues.
Besides, a rebound in the European markets after the Italian referendum led to a spurt of short covering and value buying in the domestic stock markets.
The key Indian indices, which had opened on a lower note in sync with their Asian peers, closed the day's trade with gains of around half a per cent each.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) edged up by 41.95 points or 0.52 per cent to 8,128.75 points.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 26,253.48 points, closed at 26,349.10 points -- up 118.44 points or 0.45 per cent from the previous close at 26,230.66 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 26,390.80 points and a low of 26,125.35 points during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bulls -- with 1,534 advances and 1,098 declines.
On Friday, the equity markets closed in the red on the back of negative global indices, along with caution ahead of US non-farm payrolls data and profit booking.
The barometer index was down by 329.26 points or 1.24 per cent, while the NSE Nifty slipped by 106.10 points or 1.30 per cent.
"Markets ended higher on Monday after two sessions of losses. Nifty bounced back in the afternoon session as buying emerged from the lower levels," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, told IANS.
"This was despite the weakness seen in Asian markets. The Indian indices seemed to take cues from the European indices, as they recovered after initial weakness."
According to SMC Global Securities: "Interest-rate sensitive stocks will now remain in focus as the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) meeting is scheduled on Wednesday."
However, the Indian rupee depreciated by two paise to close at 68.22 against a US dollar from its previous close of 68.20 to a greenback on Friday.
In terms of investments, provisional data with exchanges showed that the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold stocks worth Rs 317.85 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased scrip worth Rs 163.64 crore.
As per Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls: "Auto and FMCG stocks showed some resilience. Index based shares like Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel and banks shares gained amid retail participation in these stocks."
"Nifty managed to close comfortably over 8,100 points and now looks like it will trade in range of 7,900-8,300 points this week."
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE automobile index surged by 376.90 points, followed by the banking index, which gained 168.05 points, and the metal index, which rose by 157.98 points.
On the other hand, the S&P BSE IT index receded by 71.45 points, the capital goods index edged down by 22.61 points, and the oil and gas index was lower by 21.26 points.
Major Sensex gainers on Monday were: Asian Paints, up 3.58 per cent at Rs 937.95; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), up 3.29 per cent at Rs 1,181.45; Lupin, up 3.22 per cent at Rs 1,536.60; Bharti Airtel, up 2.73 per cent at Rs 327.45; and Maruti Suzuki, up 2.68 per cent at Rs 5,204.30.
Major Sensex losers were: HDFC, down 1.73 per cent at Rs 1,218.55; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), down 1.68 per cent at Rs 2,186.45; Gail, down 1.09 per cent at Rs 427.15; Sun Pharmaceuticals, down 0.89 per cent at Rs 713.05; and Wipro, down 0.79 per cent at Rs 456.45.
