Sensex gains 41 points to snap two-day losing streak

Ending a two-day losing streak, the 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed at 16,657.89, up by 40.79 points, or 0.25 per cent.The index opened firm, tracking mixed global cues, and rose 200 points to touch an intra-day high of 16,817 in the second half of trade. However, it failed to hold on to the gains after profit-taking emerged in the final hour of trading as European markets plummeted into the red.

In a volatile session, the wide-based 50-share Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange settled 0.26 per cent higher at 5,000.30."Markets were higher in the early part on news that China's exports were robust in May, but swinging of Europe from green to red hit domestic bourses and they lost most of the gains," Bonanza Portfolio AVP (Research-Equity) Avinash Gupta said.

Top telecom player Bharti Airtel zoomed 5.57 per cent and ended at Rs 272.15, a day after it completed its USD 10.7 billion acquisition deal for Kuwait-based Zain's Africa operations.

Another telecom major, Reliance Communications, led by billionaire Anil Ambani, rebounded and climbed 1.37 per cent.On the sectoral front, metal, pharma and oil & gas were the top performers, while FMCG and IT were the top losers.

Metal stocks were shining today, with Sterlite Industries rising 3.31 per cent, Tata Steel 2.20 per cent, Hindalco 0.61 per cent and Jindal Steel 0.50 per cent.
Reliance Industries, which carries the maximum weight on the benchmark indices, gains 1.04 per cent to Rs 1,006.85.

Demand was also witnessed at banking counters, with ICICI Banking moving up 1.23 per cent, HDFC Bank 1.16 per cent and HDFC 0.17 per cent.However, profit booking in FMCG and IT stocks dragged the market down. ITC sank 4.19 per cent and HUL 0.70 per cent.
Infosys lost 1.04 per cent, TCS 1.96 per cent and Wipro 2.12 per cent. Analysts said the sector was under pressure due to European debt worries. US and Europe are the top sources of Indian IT firms' revenue.

"These days, overnight developments (mainly in the US and Europe) are playing a significant role in the domestic market and volatility is likely to continue in coming trades also," Gupta added.

Asian markets ended mixed, with China's Shanghai Stock Exchange rising 2.78 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei ended 1 per cent lower. European markets were also mixed at mid-session, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.20 per cent