Markets end higher led by index heavyweights

Benchmark indices ended higher, amid a volatile trading session, led by buying among software shares and index heavyweight Reliance Inds.

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensex closed at 19,673 up 98 points.

The National Stock Exchange’s 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed up 27 points at 5,971.

On the global front, Asian markets ended higher in trades on Monday as investors cheered the upbeat US. labour force report that sent Wall Street to an all-time closing high last week.

The Shanghai Composite index advanced 26 points to close at 2,231, Hang Seng jumped 225 points to close at 22,915, Straits Times ended higher by 13 points to close at 3,383 and the Taiwan Weighted gained 34 points to settle at 8,169.

Japanese financial markets were shut on Monday for a public holiday and will reopen on Tuesday. Britain's stock market was also shut on Monday for a national holiday.

The dollar edged up against the yen on Monday and European stocks clung near last week's multi-year highs after a strong U.S. jobs report eased concerns about the global economic growth outlook.

German government bonds, gold and oil were all little changed to slightly firmer in thinly traded markets due to a holiday in the UK.

Back home, BSE Metal, IT and Consumer Durable indices surged by nearly 2% each. However, BSE FMCG index declined by nearly 1%.

Shares of metal companies were in focus on the bourses with many frontline stocks trading higher up to 4% after LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME), rose over 5% on Friday, after a better than expected US non farm payrolls data.

Hindalco Industries, Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Sesa Goa, NMDC and Hindustan Zinc ended higher in the range of 2-4% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

IT

stocks ended higher on better than expected US job data.

The US economy created a net 165,000 jobs in April much higher than market expectation, as per the Labor Department.

US jobs data brightened demand prospects for the industrial metal. TCS, Infosys and Wipro surged between 0.5-3.5%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Inds gained nearly 3%.

Other notable gainers were Hero Moto, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank and GAIL.

On the losing side, ONGC, NTPC, ITC and HDFC Bank declined between 1-2%.

Financials share recovered from the day’s low and ended mixed. Cobrapost finds dozens and dozens of major public sector banks, and many more private banks, across the country are blatantly involved in money laundering, as are major insurers.

Meanwhile, BSE Midcap index surged by 1.17% whereas BSE Smallcap index closed higher 0.96%.

The market breadth in BSE ended healthy with 1,339 shares advancing and 1,006 shares declining.

SMART MOVERS

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) soared 12% to Rs 22.75 on back of heavy volumes on revival hopes.

AstraZeneca Pharma India rallied 6% on BSE ahead of its board meeting today to consider a “Strategy Plan” for the company.

HEG ended higher by 11% after reporting seven-fold jump in net profit at Rs 35 crore for the quarter ended March 2013, due to foreign exchange gain.

Jindal Poly Films surged 10% to Rs 169 after the company engaged in commodity chemicals business announced the acquisition of global biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) business of ExxonMobil Chemical for $235 million (approx. Rs 1,265 crore).