Markets continued to trade on a firm note in the past one hour of trade on back of buying visible across the board. The Sensex was at 18,669, up 177 points and the S&P CNX Nifty hovered around the 5600 levels. The index was at 5593, up 47 points.
Meanwhile, the European markets have opened on a strong note. The FTSE opened at 5818, higher by 52 points or 0.9%, DAX advanced 1.10% or 79 points to open at 7249 and the CAC40 index gained 34 points at 3886.
Back home, the BSE FMCG sector continued to remain the top sectoral gainer, up 2% or 75 points at 3948. Metal, consumer durables, power, technology and banking indices also traded on a firm note.
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(Updated at 12.30 PM)
Markets continued the upmove in the noon deals on back of buying visible across the sectors. The Nifty is testing its crucial psychological level of 5600. The index touched an intra-day high of 5602. At 12.28 PM the S&P, CNX Nifty was at 5590, up 44 points and the Sensex gained 158 points at 18,651.
According to Shshank Mehta, Derivative Strategist from Nirmal Bang, "If the Nifty breaks its psychological resistance level of 5600, it can move upto 5710."
Meanwhile, in a major corporate development Tata's have sought interim relief in the Singur land case after the Supreme Court directed the West Bengal government not to return Singur land to farmers till the Calcutta High Court hearing is over.
Back to markets, Reliance Infrastructure was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. The stock gained 2.3% to Rs 535. BHEL added 2.2% to Rs 2048. Sterlite Industries, Tata Motors, ITC, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, TCS, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindalco, hero Honda and Maruti Suzuki also advanced 1-2% each. On the other hand J P Associates, Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Cipla, L&T and DLF were among the notable losers, down 0.2-1% each.
All the sectoral indices were trading higher. The BSE FMCG index 1.6% or 60 points at 3934. Metal index gained 1% or 160 points at 14,923. Power, technology, auto, banking, capital goods, consumer durables and healthcare stocks also witnessed buying in today's session so far.
Colgate Palmolive surged 4% to Rs 950 and was the top gainer among the FMCG stocks. It was followed by Marico, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Global Beverages, United Breweries and Nestle, up 1-3.5% each.
The sugar stocks were trading on a positive note after the government issued a formal order for exports of an additional 500,000 tonnes of sugar approved by a panel of ministers. Among the individual stocks, Shree Renuka Sugars, Balrampur Chini, Dwarikesh Sugar, Dhampur Sugar and Bajaj Hind have rallied more than 5% each on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The broader markets were also trading higher. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 0.51% or 35 points at 6814 and the small-cap index gained 0.8% or 61 points to 8095 levels.
The overall breadth was extremely positive as 1650 stocks were advancing while 929 stocks were declining.