 "Markets remain firm; Consumer Durables up 2.2%")
At 11:25 hours, the 30-share Sensex was up 51 points at 20,862, while the Nifty-50 had increased by 18 points at 6,204.
Broader markets outpeformed the benchmark, with the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap increasing by 0.51% and 0.37% respectively, compared to Sensex's gain of 0.26%.
At 62.03, the rupee marginally appreciated by 0.04 points compared to Tuesday's close of 62.07 versus the dollar. Increased foreign fund inflows, a higher opening in the domestic equity market, and the Euro's gains against the US dollar in the overseas market supported the rupee, according to forex dealers.
Breadth of the market was positive, with 1183 advances, 919 declines, and 115 scrips remaining unchanged.
Asian Markets
Major Asian indices were up on Tuesday morning on the back of strong performance on Wall Street. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 85 points at 22,473, while Singapore's Straits Times was marginally up by 0.07% at 3,108.
Japan's Nikkei advanced 1.55%, or 233 points, to a three week high of 15,071. Softbank climbed to its highest level in a month on reports that the company might buy a stake in messaging service Line Corp.
Sectors and Stocks
Amongst the various sectors, the S&P BSE Consumer Durables index was leading the list of gainers, increasing by 1.9%. CD index constituent VIP Industries increased by more than 6% to Rs. 68.15, while Blue Star, Bajaj Electric, and Titan Industries also gained by 2-4% each.
Other sectors that remained in the green were IT, FMCG, Healthcare, and Bankex, each making modest gains of 0.1-0.7%.
On the other hand, Metal declined by 0.55% as SAIL decreased by as much as 2%. Oil and Gas and Power also showed modest declines of 0.1-0.3% each.
BHEL was the biggest gainer in the Sensex, increasing by more than 2%. Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, and Wipro also gained by 1.0-1.5% each.
NTPC continued its losing streak to decrease by 2%, after losing more than 10% yesterday on concerns that the new norms by the electricity regulator CERC is seen negative for the PSU firm. GAIL, Sesa Sterlite, and Coal India also declined by 1.0-1.5% each.
Tata Power came under profit booking after yesterday's gain of more than 5% on CERC order of giving compensation for the losses incurred in procuring expensive coal from Indonesia for its Mundra plant in Gujarat.
Amongst other shares, Gujarat Gas Company has rallied 9% to Rs 242 after its board approved the consolidation of city gas distribution business.
Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) decreased for the second day in a row and was down almost 2% to Rs 805 after the IDBI had rejected bids received from the potential investors on Monday.
Cadila Healthcare is trading higher by 2% at Rs 1,019, extending its yesterday’s nearly 5% rally on the BSE, after the company said it has received the final approval from the US FDA to market Clonidine