 "Markets remain firm; IT stocks lead")
Benchmark indices are trading firm with Sensex and Nifty gaining by nearly 1% each led by financials and information technology shares.
By 14:10, the Sensex was higher by 122 points at 21,196 mark and the Nifty gained by 34 points at 6,313 levels.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 743.70 crore on Thursday, 26 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Shanghai made the running with a rise of 1.7% as money rates eased and China set its yuan at an historic high. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.8 %.
Supporting sentiment was another record close for the Dow, while the S&P 500 brought its gains for the year so far to 29%.
Tokyo's Nikkei eked out a slim gain, logging a six-year closing high. The index remains 55.6% higher for the year, its best annual performance since 1972, driven by Japan's aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus.
Back home, the rupee was off lows in afternoon trades due to dollar sale by state-run banks on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
At 2PM the rupee was trading at Rs 61.90 compared with previous close of Rs 62.16 per dollar.
On the sectoral front, BSE IT index has spurted by nearly 2% followed by counters like Realty, Banks, Metal, FMCG and Healthcare, all gaining by 1% each. Apart from Oil & Gas and Auto, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in green zone.
IT stocks have gained momentum after the latest data showed US jobless claims fell last week. US is the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. TCS, Infosys and Wipro have gained between 1-3%.
Other notable gainers are Cipla, SBI, Sun Pharma, HUL, Sesa Sterlite, HDFC and ITC.
On the losing side, Maruti Suzuki, BHEL, Bajaj Auto, Hero Moto and RIL have declined between 0.5-1.4%.
Shares of Sesa Sterlite, Adani Power and GMR Infrastructure have gained after the cabinet on Thursday approved the supply of additional coal from Coal India Ltd to nine power plants.
UPL is trading higher by 2% at Rs 193 ahead of its board meeting on Monday to consider the share buyback proposal.
The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up by 0.4%.
The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 1,286 shares advancing and 1,053 shares declining.
By 14:10, the Sensex was higher by 122 points at 21,196 mark and the Nifty gained by 34 points at 6,313 levels.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 743.70 crore on Thursday, 26 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
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On the global front, most Asian share markets notched up gains on Friday after another powerful performance by Wall Street, while Japanese economic data impressed and the dollar briefly broke the 105 yen barrier for the first time in five years.
Shanghai made the running with a rise of 1.7% as money rates eased and China set its yuan at an historic high. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.8 %.
Supporting sentiment was another record close for the Dow, while the S&P 500 brought its gains for the year so far to 29%.
Tokyo's Nikkei eked out a slim gain, logging a six-year closing high. The index remains 55.6% higher for the year, its best annual performance since 1972, driven by Japan's aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus.
Back home, the rupee was off lows in afternoon trades due to dollar sale by state-run banks on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
At 2PM the rupee was trading at Rs 61.90 compared with previous close of Rs 62.16 per dollar.
On the sectoral front, BSE IT index has spurted by nearly 2% followed by counters like Realty, Banks, Metal, FMCG and Healthcare, all gaining by 1% each. Apart from Oil & Gas and Auto, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in green zone.
IT stocks have gained momentum after the latest data showed US jobless claims fell last week. US is the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. TCS, Infosys and Wipro have gained between 1-3%.
Other notable gainers are Cipla, SBI, Sun Pharma, HUL, Sesa Sterlite, HDFC and ITC.
On the losing side, Maruti Suzuki, BHEL, Bajaj Auto, Hero Moto and RIL have declined between 0.5-1.4%.
Shares of Sesa Sterlite, Adani Power and GMR Infrastructure have gained after the cabinet on Thursday approved the supply of additional coal from Coal India Ltd to nine power plants.
UPL is trading higher by 2% at Rs 193 ahead of its board meeting on Monday to consider the share buyback proposal.
The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up by 0.4%.
The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 1,286 shares advancing and 1,053 shares declining.