Punjab, Oct. 13 -- Two sessions, two directions. The Sensex fell 548 points on Monday to 71,924.68, then rose about 1,109 points on Tuesday to roughly 73,034 - leaving it about 560 points up on Friday's close across the pair.
Monday: positioning before the print
The Sensex shed 547.65 points, or 0.76 per cent. The Nifty gave up 157.10 points to 22,363.35. The drivers were the ones that have run all month: rising ten-year government bond yields, continued FII outflows, Middle East tension and weak global cues.
The specific reason for the timing was that September CPI was due after the closing bell, and the market reduced risk ahead of it. It was right to: inflation came in at a 23-month high of 5.54 per cent.
The odd detail on Monday was...