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Indian bourses ended mixed on Monday, driven by volatile trading, owing to expiry of near-month derivative contracts. The weak Asian markets on account of the scare over outbreak of swine flu also triggered the selling pressure.

The benchmark Sensex, marginally up 42 points, finished at 11,372 after trading between 11,176 and 11,492 and the broader Nifty sheds 11 points to end lower at 3470.

ICICI Bank lead the rally with a gain of 8 per cent, followed up Axis Bank, HDFC Bank & Punjab National Bank.

Akshaya Tritiya, which fell on Monday, a day considered auspicious for buying gold in Indian households, witnessed huge volumes in gold exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Price of standard gold rose by Rs 135 for 10 grams to Rs 14,830 from Rs 14,695 previously.

On Tuesday the markets witnessed the huge sell-off. The indices were pulled down both by weak global markets and by the squaring off of positions ahead of the April Futures and Options (F&O) expiry on Wednesday.

The Sensex tanked a whopping 370 points to finish at 11,001 and the Nifty eased 107 points to end at 3362. Both, FIIs and the domestic institutions, turned sellers.

Banking, realty and metal indices were the most hammered. The major losers in the Sensex pack were HDFC, RCom, DLF, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sought clarifications from Bharti Group on whether it violated norms by enhancing the stake in Bharti Airtel from 60.91 per cent to 67.03 per cent without announcing an open offer.

Broking firms are gearing up to comply with the maiden internal audit guidelines prescribed by SEBI. The first set of half-yearly internal audit reports of stockbrokers, including trading and clearing members, is likely to roll out by the end of this month.

Fears over swine influenza becoming a pandemic dragged airline stocks down on Tuesday. The Jet Airways' stock lost 4.30 per cent to close at Rs 192.50, while Kingfisher Airlines witnessed a sharper fall of 7.58 per cent to Rs 36.60. SpiceJet also shed 8.61 per cent to close at Rs 14.10.

Taking strong cues from the Asian markets, the benchmark Sensex on Wednesday rose by over 162 points in opening trade owing to fresh capital inflows by foreign funds amid short-covering by speculators.

The bourses continued its rally througout the day and the Sensex closed with a smart gain of 401 points at 11,403 and the Nifty also ended higher at 3474, up 111 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have turned net buyers in the Indian markets in 2009. Consistent inflows from FIIs, especially in April, have resulted in net inflows of Rs 530 crore on a year-to-date basis . April alone saw the Indian markets receive net inflows of Rs 6,682 crore from FIIs. This sudden arrival of foreign funds was perhaps a key reason for the strong rally witnessed by the Sensex in the current month.

The Indian bourses remained closed on Thursday and Friday on account of general elections and Mahrarashtra day respectively in Mumbai.

Compiled by S Vasudevan
Podcast by A Srirengarajan

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