Markets ends higher after a volatile session

The markets ended marginally higher on Thursday, amid a volatile trading session, led by gains in FMCG majors Hindustan Unilever and ITC.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 50 points at 20,311 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 14 points at 6,036.

Earlier in the day, markets had opened firm but were unable to sustain gains on profit taking at higher levels. Later, there was a sharp fall in the markets with the Sensex tanking over 150 points only to rebound remain range bound till noon. Further, firm opening in European markets led to gradual recovery post noon to finally end the session with marginal gains.

Through the day, the Sensex hit a high of 20,358 and touched a low of 20,079. Nifty had a swing between the levels of 5,965 to 6,048 in today's trade.

Meanwhile, it was a mixed day for the broader markets as the midcap index closed in the red, down 0.2% at 6,300 while the smallcap index was flat with a positive bias at 6,309, both underperforming the Sensex which gained nearly 0.3%.

Sectors and Stocks

Realty index down 1.5% was the top sectoral loser followed by Capital Goods down 1%.

Bankex and IT indices losing 0.2% each were the only other indices to close in the negative territory.

Meanwhile, FMCG, Consumer Durables and Metal indices gained over 1% each and were the top sectoral gainers.

Auto index up 0.8% and power index up 0.4% were the other sectoral gainers.

Coal India up 4.5% was the top Sensex gainer.

Tata Power, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, HDFC Bank and Wipro up 1.5-3% were the major gainers.

Hindalco, NTPC, Tata Steel and Tata Motors which added 0.5-1% were the other notable gainers. 

Among the ones in the red were BHEL, Axis Bank, Cipla, TCS SBI, L&T and Gail India down 1-2.5%. 

ICICI Bank, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite and Infosys down 0.5-0.8% were the other major losers. 

In individual stocks, Bajaj Corp slipped 4% to Rs 209 after reporting 31% year on year decline in net profit at Rs 29 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013,  due to one-time expenditure of Rs 12 crore on brand amortization and higher other expenditure. 

Astral Poly Technik surged 8% to Rs 385, also its new high on the BSE, after reporting a more than doubled net profit at Rs 21.32 crore for Q3FY14. 

Godfrey Phillips India Limited (GPIL) gained 6% to Rs 2,917, extending its nearly 9% rally in past two trading sessions, after reporting a strong 43.8% year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 70.74 crore for the third quarter.

LG Balakrishnan and Brothers soared 12% to Rs 317 on BSE after Reliance Mutual Fund bought 5% stake in the company for Rs 11 crore through open market transaction.

Kolte-Patil Developers was up 3% at Rs 77 after real estate developer, has announced the closure of the acquisition of a 34 acres land parcel at Wakad, Pune for approximately Rs 350 crore.

Wheels India soared 10% to Rs 1,056, extending its 20% rally in past four trading sessions on rights issue plan.

Jet Airways (India) surged 11% to Rs 234 on reports that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday approved Etihad's 50.1% stake buy in Jet Privilege Private Ltd (JPPL), a customer loyalty programme unit of Jet Airways.

The market breadth was marginally negative on the BSE. 1,292 stocks declined while 1,258 stocks advanced.

Global Markets

Asian shares took a tentative step forward from five-month lows on Thursday, with investors hoping the European Central Bank (ECB) and upcoming U.S. jobs data can calm nerves strained by the emerging market selloff.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.8% after five days of losses, although Japan's Nikkei ended down 0.2% after a volatile trade.

European shares started with a green tick with all the major indices CAC, DAX and FTSE up 0.7-1.2%.