Markets end higher ahead of Budget

New Delhi: The markets ended higher ahead of the Union Budget on Tuesday amid gains in technology, banking, capital goods and some auto, FMCG and metal stocks. The Sensex closed up over 80 points.

The Sensex closed up 81.33 points or 0.80 per cent at 10282.09. It touched an intraday high of 10296.22 and an intraday low of 10109.34.

The Nifty closed up 17.40 points or 0.57 per cent at 3067.45. It touched an intraday high of 3070.35 and an intraday low of 3050.30.

The CNX Midcap Index closed up 21.40 points or 0.49 per cent at 4393.40. It touched an intraday high of 4400.15 and an intraday low of 4371.90.

The BSE Small Cap Index closed up 29.10 points or 0.48 per cent at 6131.10. The BSE Midcap Index closed up 46.90 points or 0.99 per cent at 4800.37.

Infosys, Zee, PNB, HDFC Bank, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and Satyam were the biggest index gainers.

GSK Pharma, Dabur India, HLL and MTNL were the biggest index losers.

The market breadth was marginally positive, about 1303 shares advanced, 1152 shares declined, and 70 shares remained unchanged. The total market turnover today was at Rs 24,474.72 crore.

Experts believe that the markets might correct tomorrow, irrespective of the Budget, since there are no significant expectations from the Budget.

The BSE IT Index outperformed the other indices. It closed up 2.22 per cent at 3728.10 amid gains in Infosys, Moser Baer, i-flex Solutions, Satyam, TCS, Patni Computer and Wipro.

Banking stocks like UTI Bank, PNB, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, Oriental Bank and Allahabad Bank also firmed up. The BSE Bankex closed up 1 per cent at 5153.74.

Capital goods stocks like Ingersoll Rand, Dredging Corporation, Praj Industries, Gammon India, ABB, HEG, Alstom Projects, KEC International and SKF India also surged up. The BSE Capital Goods Index closed up 0.87 per cent at 7234.27.

Buying was also seen in some auto, FMCG and metal stocks.

The BSE Auto Index closed up 0.55 per cent at 4925.65 and the BSE FMCG Index closed up 0.41 per cent at 1922.51. The BSE Metal Index closed up 0.49 per cent at 7179.44.

However, the BSE Consumer Durables Index underperformed the other indices. It closed down 2.31 per cent at 3091.51 amid losses in Titan Industries, Whirlpool, Blue Star and Samtel Color.

Select selling was seen in oil and pharma stocks. The BSE Oil & Gas Index closed down 0.07 per cent at 4482.11 and the BSE Healthcare Index closed down 0.09 per cent at 3575.75.