Markets closed higher on Tuesday, amid a choppy trading session, led by engineering major L&T along with Tata Motors which has reported better-than-expected third quarter results.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensex provisionally closed at 17,889 up 116 points. The National Stock Exchange’s 50-share S&P CNX Nifty provisionally closed at 5,427 up 37 points.
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Updated at 1415 hrs
Markets continue to hover around the tight range with Indices making wild swings at higher levels. At 1415 hrs, the Sensex was up 45 points at 17,818 and they Nifty gained 17 points at 5,407 levels.
On the global front, Asian markets ended mixed. Nikkei, Strait Times and Hang Seng closed marginally in green whereas Taiwan, Kospi and Shanghai Composite ended slightly in red. Meanwhile, European markets have opened marginally lower on debt worries. CAC, DAX and FTSE have declined between 0.1-0.3%.
Back home, inflation fell to an over two-year low of 6.55% in January on cheaper food items, which may prompt the Reserve Bank to cut policy rates in the coming months.
Headline inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), had stood at 7.47% in December 2011. It was 9.47% in January last year.
On the sectoral front, Auto, Realty, Banks, Metal, Consumer Durable and Capital Goods have surged by almost 1% each. However, Healthcare is down by almost 0.5%.
Index heavyweight Reliance Inds has gained nearly 0.6%. The company has extended yesterday’s upmove by reports that the company has signed a pact with France's Dassault Aviation for partnering in the defence and homeland security sector in India.
Auto shares like Hero MotoCorp, M&M, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have accelerated between 1-3%.
From the Banking space, SBI continue to witness substantial buying demand, up 3%. The stock gained after the chairman of India’s largest lender, Pratip Chaudhuri said that “the worst is over” while announcing the third quarter results. The stock tumbled 2% yesterday post the announcement of Q3 numbers. ICICI Bank has gained by almost 1%.
Hindalco is the top Sensex gainer from the Metal space, up 4%. Sterlite and Tata Steel have gained by almost % each.
Capital Goods major L&T has zoomed by over 1%.
Consumer Durable stocks like Gitanjali Gems, Bajaj Electrical and Whirlpool have increased between 1-7%.
The broader markets continue to outperform the benchmark indices. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained between 0.6-0.7%.
The overall market breadth remains positive as 1,481 stocks are advancing while 1,287 are declining.