Here's how the day was at the Markets

Indian stocks ended the week on a positive note on Thursday as investors remained net buyers in the aftermath of the surprise 50 bps rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India two days ago. Cement, Telecom and Pharma stocks were in demand.

The Nifty rose 2 points to close the week at 7,950. The index retreated from a high of 8,006 points. The strong set led markets higher today. Hence, UltraTech, Lupin, Sun Pharma, Wipro and TCS took the first five slots on the gainers' list with HCL Tech, BHEL, GAIL, Maruti and Tata Motors ending below their Wednesday's close. The Advance-Decline Ratio was evenly match on the Nifty, at 24/26.

HCL Tech, IDFC and Infosys were the top traded stocks on the National Stock Exchange. Markets are shut on Friday on account of a local holiday.

There were bit gains all around as traders used the 3-day rally to book profit. As a result, several indices closed substantially below their day's highs. The CNX Small Cap Index gained 0.2 percent, the only one of some consequence.

The sectoral space was a mixed bag with the CNX IT, CNX Metal, CNX Realty and CNX Auto benchmarks closing with losses. However, benchmarks representing the Pharma and FMCG sectors edged higher in trade.

Sentiment was flat on the Bombay Stock Exchange where the Sensex rose a modest 66 points at 26,220. The Advance-Decline Ratio was at 17/13 and Lupin, Dr. Reddy's ONGC, Coal India showed traction in Thursday's trade. BHEL, Maruti, HDFC and ICICI Bank fell on the index.

Larsen, HDFC and Lupin were the 3 top traded counters on the Sensex.

Bulls and Bears were evenly matched in the wider market with 1,384 stocks rising compared with 1,307 shares that fell below their Wednesday's close on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The Nifty futures ended flat in the derivatives space even as spectacular action was seen on individual futures. Bharti Infratel jumped 11 percent. Strong gains were seen on Titan and India Cement futures as well. Futures coming under selling pressure were Amtek Auto and IFCI.

On the volume buzzers list were EIH Ltd., HCL Tech, KSB Pumps and HEG Ltd.

Image credit: Indiatimes