Nifty ends higher for 5th consecutive session, tests 5700

Indian equity benchmarks closed at a fresh two-month high on Monday and touched important psychological levels. Indices continued their uptrend for the fifth consecutive session, aided by financial, infrastructure, auto and FMCG companies' shares. Bharti Airtel, ONGC and Wipro too were quite supportive.

The 50-share NSE Nifty closed at 5,687.25, up 33 points or 0.58%, after hitting the 5,700 mark in an intra-day trade. The 30-share BSE Sensex too touched the 19,000 level, before shutting shop at 18,943.14, up 127.50 points or 0.68%.

Derivative contracts for the month of March are going to expire this Thursday. Technical analyst Mitesh Thacker of miteshthacker.com believes that the March series will close on a positive note. ''We would probably close around 5,750-5,800 mark,'' he says.

"Technically, it's looking quite positive. While we have some surprise points, very near to the current level of the Nifty, which is 200-day average and the 89-day average, both are converging at levels of about 5690-5695. We will have lots of supply points coming in between but breaking out of a big consolidation suggests that the overall trend will be up," he said.

The market has returned to January level despite any major change in fundamentals. However, experts still feel that crude and inflation concerns are still looming large. It seems that benchmarks factored in some negative news like the massive 9 magnitude earthquake hitting northern region of Japan followed by tsunami and blasts in nuclear plants, and geo-political tensions in Middle East and North Africa.

The Japanese triple whammy has not left a lasting impact on global markets. Russell Napier of CLSA says the collateral damage due to Japan may be limited and will not be long lasting. ''Events arising out of Japan may impact stock markets positively,'' he says.