Mumbai, March 19: The sensex today signed off for a long weekend with a gain of 161.4 points, or 1.1 per cent, buoyed by the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut and a slew of other positive global factors.

Morgan Stanley turned in better than expected profit results and emerged as the best investment bank on Wall Street. Its income from continuing operations fell to $1.55 billion in the first quarter ended February 29 from $2.31 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 17 per cent to $8.3 billion. But the Street had expected worse — and was upbeat after the strong numbers from Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers yesterday.

The three-quarters of a percentage point cut in the federal funds rate in the US sparked resilience in the Asian markets. The rally kicked into the Indian bourses as well: the bellwether index surged about 632 points soon after the markets opened but failed to sustain the highs as European heavyweight banking stocks reported losses at the FTSE index in the afternoon. The sensex finally settled just below 15000 at 14994.83, while the 50-share Nifty closed 41 points up at 4573.95.

Although the market continued with its bull rally for two consecutive sessions, analysts believe that the confidence levels are still very low, and selling pressure at higher levels is moderating the day’s gains. Investors who bought shares during market lows are desperately waiting for opportunities to offload their holdings.

“Investors’ confidence levels are very low at this juncture, and the market is witnessing selling pressure with every high. So, the volatility is going to stay for some more time. The Indian investors will follow the global markets. When the Indian bourses reopen next Monday, they will factor in the cumulative effects of the Asian markets over the next two days,” said Manish Sonthalia, vice-president (market strategy) Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Rupee moves up

The rupee gained against the dollar by 8 paise to end at Rs 40.44 on hopes that there would be more inflows into the country. The Indian currency was under pressure against the US greenback in the recent past as the equity markets were hit.