Key share indices continue to remain volatile in a narrow range, oscillating between negative and positive terrain. After witnessing a strong rally on Friday, markets seem to be taking a breather today tracking weak Asian cues and profit taking at higher levels.
By 11:30, the 30-share Sensex was down 5 points at 18,748 and the 50-share Nifty was up 3 points at 5,694.
The rupee rose by 35 paise to fresh over four-month high of 53.10 against the American currency in early trade today on persistent dollar selling by exporters and some banks, fearing further rise in rupee's value.
On the sectoral front, BSE Power index has surged by almost 3% followed by counters like Realty, Capital Goods, Banks, Metal, Consumer Durable, Auto and PSU, all spurting between 1-2%. However, BSE FMCG, IT, Oil & Gas and Healthcare indices have declined between 0.1-1.5%.
Power related shares have extended the gains on hopes that the government would soon announce financial restructuring of power distribution companies. BHEL is the top Sensex gainer, up over 6%. Tata Power has surged by nearly 4%.
Realty shares have also rallied on hopes the government's move to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail chains will boost demand for commercial property. Anant Raj Inds, DLF, DB Realty, Godrej Properties, HDIL and Unitech have gained between 1-4%.
Banking stocks like ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank have risen between 1-2%. State Bank of India is trading higher by 1.6% at Rs 2,247 in an otherwise subdued market after the bank decided to cut the lending rates by 25 basis points.
Metal shares like Jindal Steel, Sterlite, Hindalco and Tata Steel have gained between 1-3.5%.
Other notable gainers include M&M, Hero Moto, Dr Reddy’s Lab, NTPC, Wipro and Tata Motors.
On the losing side, defensive shares like HUL and ITC have extended the losses, down almost 3% each on account profit taking at higher levels after recent gains, as the reform measures announced by the government will favour cyclical and high beta stocks.
Other notable losers include TCS, Cipla, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, GAIL and HDFC.
Among individual shares, GVK Power and Infrastructure has rallied 7.75% to Rs 14.73 on reports that the company controlled Mumbai International Airport sought hike in aeronautical tariffs.
United Spirits advanced nearly 7% to hit a 52 week high at Rs 1,065 ahead of the annual general meeting which is being held this week.
IDBI Bank has gained nearly 2% after the bank plans to raise another $500 million (about Rs 2,700 crore) through bonds to fund its overseas business growth.
TTK Healthcare wes up nearly 2.5% at Rs 382 after the TTK Group and Reckitt Benckiser on Friday informed the apex court that they are in talks for an out-of-court settlement to resolve the issue over control of their joint venture.
The broader indices are outperforming the benchmark indices; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up over 1%.
The market breadth in BSE remains healthy with 1,630 shares advancing and 790 shares declining.