Indian stock markets ended on a positive note for a third successive session.

The 30-share index BSE Sensex surged 144 points to end the week at 18,350 and the broad-based Nifty gained 42 points to 5,522.

In spite of the short term increase, analysts are not hopeful on Indian bourses in the medium term.

Anil Singhvi of ICAN Investment Advisors said that business outcomes during 2011-12 will not be as healthy as analysts anticipate as there is a vacuum in governance, the political group is in a confusion, interest rates are growing, liquidity is constraining and commodity costs remain up.

The stock indices belled on a higher note and hit the intraday peak during early trade (Sensex - 18,373 and Nifty- 5,529).

An increase in food inflation resulted in some selling pressure but the bourses recovered to end on a sturdy note.

Among sectoral indices, oil & gas and healthcare scrips ended the week on a feeble note while the auto, IT and realty scrips remained up.

The gainers list comprised Unitech, Parsvnath, Indiabulls Real Estate, M&M, Hero Honda, TCS, Infosys, Hindalco, BHEL and JP Associates.

The losers list included Maruti, Bajaj Auto, HUL and RIL.

Newly listed Lovable Lingerie ended 22% higher.

Mr. Avinash Gorakshakar of Edelweiss Advisors stated, "The markets have seen good amount of buying form local institutions and FIIs and there is a momentum in the short term. The markets are likely to see 5,550 in a couple of days. Short covering is playing a role in the rise. Crude is going to be a key decider for the market's direction."

Japan's Nikkei ended 0.15% down. South Korea's Kospi ended with gains of 1.22%.