Sensex ends 252 pts higher on settlement day

ALSO READ See Key Market Stats - Top Gainers/ Losers, Most Actives, Highs/Lows See how Global Markets are trading Indian ADRs

A smart rally on the expiry day, led by heavyweights, helped the Nifty to shut shop above the key psychological 5,000 mark. Oil & gas, private banks, technology, FMCG and auto stocks played a key role in today's upmove. The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 252.05 points or 1.53%, to close at 16,698.07 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 69.55 points or 1.41%, to end at 5,015.45.  

Ambareesh Baliga, COO, Way2Wealth said, the downside in the market is limited now. He doesn't see the Nifty going below 4,750-4,800. The upsides, he says, would also be capped at 5,100-5,250.

Meanwhile, the favourable verdict in German Parliament over European bailout package failed to lift mood in Europe. France's CAC and Germany's DAX rose 0.2-0.7% while Britain's FTSE were trading 0.6% down at the time Indian markets closed. Even Dow Jones and Nasdaq futures came off their day's highs and were up around 0.8%.

On the home turf, the BSE Auto and IT surged 2% each. FMCG, Oil & Gas, Bank and Power indices were up 1-1.8%.

Heavyweight Infosys shot up 3.4%, to close above Rs 2,500; the stock has seen smart recovery from August lows of near Rs 2000 level.

From the oil & gas space, ONGC and Reliance Industries rose 2.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

Private financial space too was quite supportive. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC moved up 2.5-3%.

From the auto pack, Tata Motors, M&M, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki gained 1.5-3%. ITC and HUL surged 2.6% each.

However, L&T and Sesa Goa closed lower for the second consecutive session; fell over 2%.

SBI, Bharti Airtel, Sterlite, Sun Pharma, Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure were down 1%.

About 603 shares advanced as against 824 shares declined on National Stock Exchange. Total traded turnover on both exchanges was more than Rs 2.43 lakh crore.