The benchmark indices ended the last day of the December derivatives series and the penultimate day of the year on an optimistic note.Cementing the strong 200+ gains of the previous session, the Sensex rallied another 97 points at 20353 and the Nifty scaled the 6100 level in intra-day trades, only to end just shy of the mark at 6090, up 30 points.
The midcap index ended at 7723, higher by 64 points and the smallcap index ended at 9552, up 41 points.
Rollover of long positions on the F&O expiry day would have spurred the upmove, especially towards the closing moment of trade.
There was green across Asia, with the Hang Seng, Taiwan, Seoul and Straits Times gaining upto half a per cent each.
The Japanese index, however, ended down around a percent as a stronger yen knocked the shares of major exporters.
And the European indices, including the FTSE, CAC and DAX, have reversed their early gains and are now trading marginally lower.
The US stocks had advanced in thin trade overnight, lifted by investor optimism about the economy in 2011; the Dow was up 10 points at 11,586 and Nasdaq was up four points at 2,666.
And pre-market
trading in Dow futures suggesting a mildly positive opening on Wall Street.
On the macro-economic front, the food inflation surged to a 10-week high of 14.44% for the week ended December 18 from 12.13% in the previous week due to the escalating prices of onions, fruits, cereals and protein-based products.
This is the fifth consecutive weekly rise in food prices. And on the policy front, the government deferred a decision on a possible increase in fuel prices in an attempt to fend off additional inflationary pressures and mass discontent.
Meanwhile, the RBI deputy governor KC Chakrabarty said that inflation was always a concern and a pause in rate hikes does not mean a halt.
