style="color: #222222">The Indian equity benchmark ended with healthy gains at the end of a rangebound trading session. The undertone in today's trade was slightly cautious as markets will be shut on Tuesday on account of the Gandhi Jayanti holiday. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty were seen struggling for direction after rising by ~8% in September while the Small-Cap index and the Mid-Cap index ended higher by 1.4% and ~0.9%, respectively.
 
Markets opened on a flat note and stayed in a tight trading range for majority of the day on account of mixed cues from the international markets. However, key Indian stock indices were seen making an upturn in the second half, tracking positive cues from the European markets.
 
Sentiment got a fillip after manufacturing activity in the debt-strapped eurozone jumped to a six-month-high in September, but remained stuck in the contraction mode for 14th successive month, data compiler Markit reported on Monday. The widely tracked manufacturing PMI rose to 46.1 from 45.1 in August and was revised up from a preliminary estimate of 46.0.

On the other hand, domestically, manufacturing activity in India remained more or less steady in September compared to the previous month, as export orders and output saw healthy gains, a business survey showed on Monday. The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 52.8 in September, unchanged from August, which was a nine-month low.

The BSE Sensex closed at 18,824, up 61 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day's high of 18,838 and a day's low of 18,745. It opened at 18,784.

The NSE Nifty ended at 5,719, up 15 points over the previous close. It earlier touched a day’s high of 5,723 and a day’s low of 5,694. It opened at 5,704.

JP Associates, Ambuja Cement, Reliance Infra, Infy, Grasim, Ultratech Cem, Tata Motors and Jindal Steel were among the major gainers in BSE Sensex and Nifty.

While, DLF, Bank of Baroda, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, PNB, ONGC, ACC and Kotak Bank were among the major losers in Sensex and Nifty,

The INDIA VIX on NSE gained 1.1% to end at 16.34. It hit a day’s high of 16.77 and a day’s low of 15.99.

Globally, Asian markets open for trading witnessed some selling pressure after data over the weekend painted a bleak picture for top regional economies of China and Japan.

Commodities and the Australian dollar weakened as manufacturing data out of China and Japan added to concerns about the global economic slowdown. The euro slid to a three-week low. Japan's Nikkei index ended down 0.8% at 8,796.51.

European stock indices opened flat to slightly higher as investors welcomed the results of stress test on the Spanish banking sector. However, disappointing manufacturing data from China and Japan partly dampened the mood. European markets are also awaiting a Moody's review of Spanish debt ratings.

The Stoxx 600 gained ~1%. Last week, the index posted its worst weekly performance since early June.

Key stock indices in the UK, Germany and France were up ~1% each. The IBEX 35 index in Spain too advanced by 0.5%.
 
Late on Friday, after the markets closed, a stress tests of the Spanish banking system showed it has recapitalization needs of 59.3 billion euros ($76.3 billion), which was in line with expectations. 

Separately, the markets were awaiting the Parthasarthi Shome panel's final report on GAAR and also its recommendations on retrospective amendments. Mr. Shome submitted the report to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today.
 
Enough time will be given for an informed debate on the panel's recommendations on retrospective amendments, Shome told reporters before entering North Block in the morning today.
 
The much awaited Kelkar Committee report was made public on Friday. The panel in its report has said that fiscal deficit can be reined in at 5.2% of GDP for the current financial year - but only if subsidies are cut.

Maruti Suzuki shares gained slightly after India's largest carmaker reported a rise ~10% (YoY) in its total sales of 93,988 unites for the month of September.
 
Other auto shares were also in focus as they announce the monthly sales volumes. While TVS Motor was up despite reporting a 20% plus drop in September sales, M&M was subdued after notching ~10% gain in its automotive sales for the month.
 
Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors are also due to announce their monthly sales numbers later today.

Kingfisher Airlines remained in the spotlight amid reports that it is facing disruptions and/or delays of flights after a section of employees did not report to work.
 
Shares of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) rallied after JP Morgan upgraded the stock to "overweight" with a target price of Rs. 130.
 
Shares IL&FS Transportation Networks gained intraday after the company said that it has received an order from the Haryana Urban Development Authority.

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