Sensex holds 20K as week ends

It was a happy closing day for the stock markets this week. After two quiet trading sessions, the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex returned to the bullishness it has shown most of this month, rising by 184 points or 0.9 per cent to close at a new 32-month high of 20,045.

The Sensex gained 450 points or 2.3 per cent during the week that ended on Friday, amidst an inflow of Rs 8,995 crore from foreign institutional investors during the week.

The broader Nifty at the National Stock Exchange rose by 1 per cent to close at 6,018.

Friday's movement was broad-based as the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices also rose by 1 per cent each.

Market experts however maintain their caution.

"I expect a correction of 5-7 per cent in the market," said Ramit Bhasin, MD and head markets, India, RBS.

"Fast money is never good and we have to worry about money coming in a short period of time."

The day witnessed strong trading in real estate and FMCG sector stocks. The real estate index at the BSE rose by 2.8 per cent and the FMCG index by 1.8 per cent.

DLF and Hindustan Unilever emerged the biggest gainers on the Sensex list of companies.

DLF shares rose by 5.2 per cent and Hindustan Unilever by 3.9 per cent. FIIs pumped in a net of R582.6 crore into the market on Friday, taking the total inflow into equities to R21,438 crore so far in September.

Global markets were mixed during the day. While China and Hong Kong saw gains, Japan and Taiwan witnessed a fall in their premier indices.

Europe traded weak during the day and major European markets were in the red.

India's markets have been steadily outperforming most global counterparts on the back of local growth while Europe and the US are still not sure of their economic recovery.