 "Markets snap three-day losing streak; Sensex rises 154 points")
The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended up 154 points at 27,331 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 51 points at 8,265.
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(Updated at 2:55PM
The markets have rallied in late-noon trades due to strength in index heavyweights such as ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki.
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At 2:55pm, the Sensex was quoting at 27,370, higher by 193 points and the Nifty was at 8,279, up 66 points.
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(Updated at 2:55pm)
The benchmark indices are trading virtually unchanged this afternoon due to the unenthusing cues from the global market front.
At 2:30PM, the 30-share Sensex is quoting at 27,179, higher by a mere two points and the Nifty is at 8,221, up by seven points. The broader markets are out-performing the front-liners, with the both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices racing ahead by nearly 1% each.
On the global front, the Asian markets have had a mixed sesison of trade, while the European bourses, including the CAC, DAX and FTSE have opened lower by around half a percent each.
Investors are cautious ahead of the expiry of April derivatives contracts due on Thursday and the two-day meet of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to review US monetary policy, scheduled to be held on 28-29 April 2015, during which a timeline for the first rate hike in nearly a decade is expected to be provided.
BUZZING STOCKS AND SECTORS
The BSE Auto and Banking indices are trading higher by more than 1% each, while the FMCG and IT indices have shed about a per cent each.
In the auto space, Auto stocks advanced on renewed buying. Tata Motors (up 1.68%), Eicher Motors (up 1.25%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.55%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.74%) edged higher. Bajaj Auto (down 0.27%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.33%) edged lower.
Auto stocks have advanced on renewed buying interest. Maruti Suzuki India extended previous trading session's gains, jumping by another 3.4% at Rs 3771. Among major gainers, Maruti Suzuki has extended gains and is up 3% after reporting a strong 61% year on year net profit growth at Rs 1,284 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015 (Q4FY15). Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp have added about a per cent each. The auto-ancillaries space is also going strong, with Apollo Tyres, Bharat Forge and Exide adding between 1% and 2% each.
The banking space is having a good session of trade. ICICI Bank has galloped by 6% at Rs 320 on value buying and in wake of the fact that domestic brokerages upgraded the stock with ‘buy’ rating on expectations of improvement in asset quality going forward. The private banking heavyweight had shed around 2% in a knee-jerk reaction post its Q4 numbers on Monday. In the process, ICICI Bank has gained significantly and has erased the losses accumulated over the last three weeks.Axis Bank and Yes Bank have added between 1% and 2% each. The midcap banking space is also seeing a lot of action, with Federal Bank, Indus Ind Bank and Bank of Baroda adding between 1% and 2% each.
On the other hand, the selling pressure on the IT counters continues unabated following a spate of weak numbers posted by behemoths such as Infosys and TCS, which have shed between 1% and 2% each.
The FMCG majors such as ITC and HUL have also shed over 1% each as the gloomy forecasts about the monsoons have raised fears of further decline in rural demand.
Bharti Airtel is trading higher by 1% at Rs 396 ahead of its fourth quarter results later today.