Markets at day's high; Autos surge

Markets continue to shine a day after the Budget as auto stocks rose ahead of the February sales numbers.

The Sensex touched a high of 18,144 in early trades. The index was trading near the highs at 18,138 - up 315 points or 1.7%.

The Nifty was up 99 points at 5,432.

All the sectoral indices were in green - led by auto index which jumped 3% to 8,511.

Apollo Tyres surged 4.6% to Rs 55. Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto jumped 4% each to Rs 640 and Rs 1,321, respectively. Ashok Leyland and Bharat Forge were up 3% each. Other Sensex stocks - Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki were up nearly 3% each.

Capital goods, bankex, FMCG and realty stocks were up 1-2% each.

Banking stocks gained. HDFC Bank jumped 3% to Rs 2,110. ICICI Bank added 2% to Rs 991. SBI was up 1.8% at Rs 2,681.

Realty stocks - Larsen & Toubro, Jaiprakash Associates, DLF and PSU stocks - NTPC and BHEL were up 1-2% each in trades. Other gainers included Reliance, Hindalco, Sterlite and ONGC.

Textile stocks slipped on news of a price rise. Pantaloons Retail dropped 1.2% to Rs 258. Shopper's Stop dipped 1.7% to Rs 349. Arrow Textiles dropped marginally in trades.

However, Bharti Airtel slipped 1% to Rs 328. IT stocks were weak. TCS and Wipro dropped  marginally in trades. India Infoline has recommended a sell on TCS with target at Rs 1,080. On Wipro they have recommended a short with target price of Rs 432.

BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2,350 stocks traded 1,611 advanced while 657 declined.