Sensex gains 125 points, Nifty ends above 16,250

Indian benchmark equity indices closed higher on Monday amid volatility tracking gains in index majors Infosys, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. After slipping into the red, BSE Sensex recouped losses towards the fag-end of the session to ended 125.13 points or 0.23% higher at 54,402.85. NSE Nifty advanced 20.05 points or 0.12% to 16,258.25. "The markets have had a quiet day today - we did cross 16300 but failed to close above that. Once we do that, we can scale higher to 16500-16600. Since a good support range lies at 16050-16100, we can buy this market on dips or intra day corrections," said Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.

Gainers and losers

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2%, followed by Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Titan and Dr Reddy’s. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, L&T, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.

Sectoral indices

Financials and IT supported market and cushioned the fall, while most key sectoral indices traded in red. Nifty Metal closing nearly 2% lower was the top sectoral laggard followed by Nifty PSU Bank closing 1.6% down. Nifty IT and Nifty Financial Services settled 0.44% and 0.40% higher each. Overall market breadth was negative as 2,039 stocks on the BSE declined, while 1,291 advanced and 146 remained unchanged.

Global markets

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended with gains, while Seoul was in the red. Stock markets in Europe were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals.