Markets end on a high

The markets on Monday closed on a thumping note at 19,906, up 311 points, a 32 month high. The Nifty too added 95 points at 5,980, just 20 points shy of the 6000 mark.

On the global front, in Asia, markets have remained subdued of account of Holiday in Japan and cautiousness ahead of Federal Reserve's policy meeting and housing data starts expected on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed flat at 21,977 while the Nikkei gained 1.2% at 9,626.

However, the European Markets opened higher on back of gains in BP PLC, rose 1.6% after the news that Macondo Oil Well in the Gulf of Mexico had completeley sealed.

Germany's DAX-30 index has advanced 0.3%, CAC 40 has risen 0.67%, the U.K. FTSE 100 index pared opening gains and has fallen 0.5%.

All the sectoral indices on the BSE closed in the green. FMCG was the top gainer, up 3.5% followed by Realty at 1.7%, Auto at 1.3% and Metal at 1.2%.

The laggards on the chart were Power, PSU and Health Care which opened on a strong note.

The movers in the FMCG space were ITC, Colgate Palmolive up nearly 5% each followed by Hindustan Unilever which gained 4% and  Nestle India added nearly 2%.

The draggers in the Power index were Crompton Greaves and JSW Energy down 1%, Lanco Infratech which shed 0.7% and GVK Power lost 0.6% respectively.

The BSE small and mid-cap indices have under-performed

the broader markets today. The midcap index has gained 0.6% to 8,158. Blue Star was the best performer in the indices, followed by Gujarat Minerals, MVL, Brigade Enterprises and Bajaj Hindustan.

The small-cap index was up 0.7% at 10,315. Among the small-cap stocks, CCL Products and Om Metals soared 20% each to Rs 319 and Rs 63, respectively. Dunlop India, Vipul, Oscar Investment, Confidence Petroleum were the other small-cap gainers.

Meanwhile, AP Papers shed 11% at Rs 195. Resurgere Mines, Geodesic and Indowind Energy were the top losers among small-cap stocks.

Among Sensex stocks, Sterlite was the only major loser and dropped 1% in trades to end at Rs 171. NTPC, BHEL and Tata Power declined marginally in trades today.

On the other hand, Reliance Communications shone with a 5% jump to Rs 175.

FMCG stocks jumped. ITC gained 5% at Rs 177. Hindustan Unilever surged 3.7% to Rs 293.

Hero Honda and HDFC added around 4% each. Realty stocks were in green. DLF and Reliance Infrastructure added 2-3% each.

Bharti Airtel, ACC, Hindalco, Cipla, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank were some of the other gainers.

The market breadth was positive. Out of 3,105 stocks traded, 1,773 advanced while 1,211 declined in trades.