Markets signs off with 295 plus

It was a fairly good day for the largecaps, but the same cannot be said about the midcaps and smallcaps that witnessed significant amount of selling pressure today. Mixed cues from the Asian markets, kept market participants cautious. Sensex ended the day at 15,289, up 294 points from the previous close. Nifty shut shop at 4609, up 35 points. But the CNX Midcap index lost 1.5% and BSE Smallcap, down 3.8%. Sector-wise, metals lost the maximum on concerns over measures taken by the government to curb inflation. Realty and consumer durable stocks also saw selling. But banking stocks were the favourite, as the BSE Bankex gained 3.3%. Top Sensex gainers include HDFC, Wipro and ICICI Bank, while losers are Tata Steel, Reliance Energy and DLF among others.