The markets are cruising along smoothly this afternoon on the back of follow-up buying in L&T and ably assisted by the likes of Bharti Airtel and Cipla. The Sensex is up 170 points at 18,312 and the Nifty has added 53 points at 5,464.
Larsen & Toubro has soared by 3.1% at Rs 1644, extending the 5% surge post the results declaration on Thursday, to lead the gainers list on the BSE. The engineering and construction giant had reported a 17% jump in Q4 net at Rs 1,686 crore, besides a positive order book. Bharti Airtel has rung in gains of 2.6% at Rs 375 and Tata Power hardened by 2.5% Rs 1,248.
The stability around the Asian bourses and the firmness across Europe in early trades also seem to have contributed to the positive sentiment back home. Asian markets are trading higher by around half a percent each and so is the case with their European counterparts.
On the other hand, ONGC has weakened by 2.3% at Rs 270, Infosys has shed 0.2% at Rs 2840 and ITC has lost 0.2% at Rs 188 ahead of its Q4 results.
With 1,510 advances versus 1,113 declines on the BSE, the market breadth has remained positive.