Nifty banks on strong buying to reclaim 5,900 mark

The benchmark Nifty index reclaimed the 5,900 mark at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) with 33-point gain on select buying and improved investor sentiment as Government's reform efforts got further boost with the passage of much-awaited Banking Bill in Parliament.

The 50-share Nifty hovered between 5,939.40 and 5,910.80 before concluding at 5,929.60, up 32.80 points, or 0.56 per cent, over the last close.

Besides financials, which hogged the limelight after Lok Sabha cleared the Bill last evening, pharma, technology, auto, capital goods and metal scrips saw huge buying interest. FMCG and infra-related stocks witnessed profit-taking.

The bourses got further fillip after global financial markets rallied to multi-month highs bolstered by optimism over progress on US budget talks amid expectations of aggressive monetary easing measures by Japan.

Extending its overnight strong momentum, the market got off to a good start with the key index regaining the 5,900 level on across the board buying mainly led by financials. The market managed to hold on to most of its gains though some profit-taking in select banking stocks reduced the expansion.

The Banking Bill is among a series of measures taken up recently by Government to revive economic growth. The Companies Bill, which seeks to improve corporate governance and encourage corporate social responsibility, was also passed by Parliament yesterday.

Sun Pharma, Asian Paint, ONGC, Tata Motors, Jindal Steel, Wipro, Ambuja Cement, Maruti, Tata Steel and Bajaj Auto were the top Nifty gainers. Key losers included HDFC, Axis Bank, L&T, ITC, ICICI Bank, Cairn, Power Grid, NTPC, and SBIN.

The turnover in cash segment advanced to Rs 14,124.91 crore from Rs 13,975.83 crore yesterday. Overall, 8,447.03 lakh shares changed hands in 72,24,258 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 67,25,666 crore.

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