Sensex up 154 pts; eases early gains ahead of RBI policy

The BSE Sensex snapped two-session losing streak today and gained 154 points at 16,939.28 on value buying in blue-chips such as RIL and Infosys, ahead of RBI's monetary policy review and expiry of the monthly derivative contracts.

Asian cues were firm after the European leaders' meeting yesterday raised hopes that the euro-zone debt troubles may ease soon. However, there was some weakness in European stocks in late morning trade due to fall in preliminary composite purchasing managers index (PMI) for the euro-zone in October, lowest reading since July 2009.

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Sensex erased nearly half of the 300 point intra-day gain on profit-booking towards the end of the trade. Besides, the total market breadth was negative as second-line stocks underperformed.

The BSE 30-share barometer opened sharply higher, up 225 points and touched a high of 17,104.88. But it settled at 16,939.28, up 153.64 points or 0.92 per cent. In last two trading sessions, it had plunged 300 points or 1.75 per cent.

Similarly, NSE's Nifty recovered 48.40 points or 0.96 per cent to 5,098.35.

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"After a jittery week, markets opened with an upside gap on the back of strong rally in global markets. Both Asian as well as the US markets had closed with significant gains on Friday, after euro-zone leaders made some progress (ahead of yesterday's meeting) towards a strategy to tackle the region's debt crisis," said Shanu Goel, Senior Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio. MORE