Sanity—and a touch of confusion—prevailed in the stock market after Tuesday’s 213-point crash as the Sensex jumped high and dived low before ending the day almost where it had started.Caught between the fear of another wipeout and the temptation of bargain hunting, the market looked for clues. The Sensex moved yo-yo fashion within a vast 98-point band, reflecting the political uncertainty that has remained since exit polls showed that the NDA may not get even a simple majority. It closed with a marginal gain of 0.81 point at 5,713.09.At first, the market seemed reassured by the sentiment that it had over-reacted on Tuesday and that the reform process was irreversible. A sharp bout of buying in early trades lifted it to the day’s high of 5,757.52 in early trades.Then the mood seemed to change again as the index fell to 5,659.83 in late morning. In the end, caution seemed to be the byword as even bargain-hunters took a back-seat.
