 "Nifty facing resistance above 7,950; IT shares rebound")
Markets are trading firm during the late noon trades with Financials, Auto and IT shares contributing the most to the rise on the Sensex and Nifty.
At 2.45 PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 126 points at 26,569 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 32 points at 7,937.
The broader markets continued to perform well in line with the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
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Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 364.72 crore on Tuesday, 26 August 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Global Markets:
The euro is cracking under pressure on Wednesday as feverish speculation of further policy stimulus in the euro zone drove bond yields to all-time lows and lifted Asian stocks to peaks not seen in almost seven years.
In Europe, financial spread betters predicted a pause after recent gains with the FTSE trading flat with a positive bias while DAX and CAC are trading lower by 0.1%.
Japanese trimmed most of the day's gains to end flat on Wednesday. Earlier, shares had picked up pace tracking gains in major US stock indices with the S&P 500 closing above 2,000 for the first time. The benchmark Nikkei ended up 0.1% at 15,534.82. Chinese shares ended flat with positive bias while Hang Seng ended down 0.7% on profit taking at higher levels while weak corporate earnings also dampened sentiment. Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.4%.
Back home, the rupee weakened against the US dollar and is trading lower at Rs 60.4 compared to the previous close of Rs 60.43. Dollar index, a basket of currencies traded against the greenback, hit 13-month high.
Sector & Stocks:
On the sectoral front, BSE IT index is leading the rally followed by Auto, Consumer Durables, FMCG, Teck and Realty indices up between 0.5-1%. Bankex is up 0.6%. However, Power, Realty and Metal indices are losing sheen on the BSE down between 0.2-1%.
The auto sector has firmed up during the noon trades with Tata Motors up 1.3% after the auto maker said it would challenge the Competition Commission of India (CCI) order that imposed huge penalty on auto companies. Following the tandem, Bajaj Auto has surged 1.2%, Hero Motocorp has added nearly 1.5% while M&M has lost 0.4%.
Oil and Gas major ONGC has surged nearly 2% on talks that the subsidy burden would be shared between the government and upstream oil companies.
In the financial segment, ICICI Bank is leading the rally up 2%. Following the tandem, SBI, Axis Bank, and HDFC have gained between 0.2-1% on the news of reduction in interest rates on big-ticket home loans.
The IT pack is witnessing buying during the noon trades on news of encouraging US economic data. Infosys, Wipro and TCS have climbed between 0.5-1.5%.
Tata Power, HUL, Dr Reddy’s lab and ITC are some of the notable names in green up between 0.5-1%.
On the flip side, metal shares are trading lower after the apex court's verdict on coal block allocations. Sesa Sterlite, Coal India and Tata Stee are tradingl down between 0.5-1.6%.
Capital goods shares are witnessing selling pressure with BHEL down 1%.
NTPC, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank are some of the notable names in red among others down between 0.2-1%.
Among other shares, DLF is down nearly 5% on media reports that the Supreme Court has directed the company to pay the penalty of Rs 630 crore within 3 months. It may be recalled that the CCI had recently slapped a penalty of Rs 630 crore on the company for abusing its dominant position in Gurgaon.
Shares in the companies engaged in broadcasting and cable TV business like TV Today Network and New Delhi Television (NDTV) have rallied up to 20% on back of heavy volumes on the bourses.
Shares of GVK Power & Infrastructure are locked in 5% circuit at Rs 13 after the company said its subsidiary GVK MIAL has awarded the first land parcel for commercial development to Oasis Realty Private Limited for Rs. 580 crore.
The market breadth is healthy on the BSE with 1,540 shares advancing and 1,327 shares declining.