The markets continued the positive run in the noon deals on back of continued buying in banking, metal and capital goods stocks.
The Sensex was higher by 171 points at 18,472 and the S&P CNX Nifty was at 5535 higher by 53 points.
HDFC Bank continued to remain the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, the stock was trading higher by 3.4% at Rs 2168. HDFC added nearly 3% to Rs 647. Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Jaipraksh Associates, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Sterlite Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra and hero Honda were also trading higher by 1-2% each. On the other hand, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Cipla and ONGC were among the losers on the charts.
On the sectoral front, BSE Capital Goods index emerged as the top sectoral gainer, the index was higher by 1.3% or 168 points at 13,310. BSE banking index- Bankex added 145 points to 12,596. Metal, Teck, Auto and IT indices were higher by 0.5-0.8% each. Consumer durables, healthcare, PSU and power stocks were also trading in the green. Oil & gas index which was in the red earlier bounced back into the green. Meanwhile realty stocks witnessed the selling pressure, the BSE realty index lost 16 points or 0.77% at 2141.
Larsen & Toubro was the top gainer among the capital goods stocks followed by Crompton Greaves, Bharat Electricals, ABB, BGR Energy, Thermax, Praj Industries and Suzlon energy. Among the banking stocks HDFC bank led the gainers chart followed by Indusind Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, IDBI Bank and Bank of Baroda.
The broader markets also traded on a positive note the BSE mid-cap index was higher 59 points at 6794 and the small-cap index added 79 points to 9611.
The overall market breadth remained extremely positive as 1721 stocks advanced while 978 stocks declined.