It's not been an entirely bad day at the markets today. Know why

The Nifty snapped a 3-day losing streak posting a modest gain of 0.3 percent as short covering and some long positions helped the Index close above a crucial support level.

The Nifty ended 28 points higher at 8,350 with 32 shares gaining ground compared with 18 that fell. Vedanta and Sun Pharma were the top gainers on the Nifty with TCS, Bajaj Auto and Hindustan Unilever bringing up the rear.

The Sensex shut shop at 27,661 with the Index gaining 87 points on Friday. BHEL, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries shone brightly in trade even as Bharti, GAIL and ONGC slipped. The wider Advance-Decline on the broader markets favoured the bulls with 1,423 shares rising compared with 1,380 that fell.

Among other indices, the Bank Nifty was in a fine uptrend, gaining 1.1 percent at 18,719 points. 21 out of 22 Banking Futures posted smart gains as traders latched on to beaten down valuations, especially in the PSU banking space.

CNX Energy Index, CNX Pharma Index and CNX Media Index were the others that posted gains.

(Image credits: openmarkets)