 "Nifty hovers around 8,850; Infosys down over 2%")
Benchmark shares indices continued to trade firm after the first hour of trade even though weakness in Infosys, which has the highest weightage after ITC, capped upside gains for the broader Nifty.
At 10:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 117 points at 29,396 and the 50-share Nifty was up 18 points at 8,854.
The Indian rupee was trading flat at 61.41 to the US dollar compared to Friday's close of 61.42.
The US Federal Reserve will meet for its two-day policy meet, the first in 2015, on Tuesday. Analysts expect it to maintain its earlier stance of remaining 'patient' on increasing the key rates.
Asian shares came off their early highs and were trading mixed. Japanese shares firmed up with the benchmark Nikkei up 1.4% and Straits Times up nearly 0.6%. Chinese markets are trading lower with the Shanghai Composite down 1.9% and Hang Seng index extended losses and was down 0.8%.
In the financials segment, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank 1-1.6% each.
Capital goods shares BHEL and L&T were up over 2% each on hopes of order inflows after the Indo-US treaty for civilian nuclear projects.
Other Sensex gainers include, Tata Motors, ITC, Bharti Airtel and Cipla among others.
Maruti Suzuki and Idea Cellular were up over 1% each ahead of their third quarter earnings later today.
However, index heavyweight Infosys was down over 2% while Reliance Industries slipped 0.6%.
In the metal pack, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite were down 0.8-2.8% each.
Pharma majors Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs were down 0.8-2.9% each.
Other Sensex losers include, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coal India among others.
Among other shares, Max India has surged 9% to Rs 494, extending its Friday’s 8% rally on BSE, ahead of the board meeting today to review and approve the corporate restructuring plan for the company.
Edelweiss Financial Services has rallied 8% to Rs 75 on BSE after reporting a strong 43% year on year (yoy) growth in consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2014 at Rs 82.86 crore driven by growth in fee income and growth in credit. The company had profit of Rs 57.80 crore in a year ago quarter.
Rajesh Exports has rallied 15% to Rs 186 on BSE on back of heavy volumes after the company announced its plans to foray into gold finance business.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices extended gains and were up 0.6-0.9% each.
Market breadth was strong with 1,224 gainers and 881 losers on the BSE.
At 10:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 117 points at 29,396 and the 50-share Nifty was up 18 points at 8,854.
The Indian rupee was trading flat at 61.41 to the US dollar compared to Friday's close of 61.42.
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Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 2,020 crore on Friday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
The US Federal Reserve will meet for its two-day policy meet, the first in 2015, on Tuesday. Analysts expect it to maintain its earlier stance of remaining 'patient' on increasing the key rates.
Asian shares came off their early highs and were trading mixed. Japanese shares firmed up with the benchmark Nikkei up 1.4% and Straits Times up nearly 0.6%. Chinese markets are trading lower with the Shanghai Composite down 1.9% and Hang Seng index extended losses and was down 0.8%.
In the financials segment, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank 1-1.6% each.
Capital goods shares BHEL and L&T were up over 2% each on hopes of order inflows after the Indo-US treaty for civilian nuclear projects.
Other Sensex gainers include, Tata Motors, ITC, Bharti Airtel and Cipla among others.
Maruti Suzuki and Idea Cellular were up over 1% each ahead of their third quarter earnings later today.
However, index heavyweight Infosys was down over 2% while Reliance Industries slipped 0.6%.
In the metal pack, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite were down 0.8-2.8% each.
Pharma majors Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs were down 0.8-2.9% each.
Other Sensex losers include, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coal India among others.
Among other shares, Max India has surged 9% to Rs 494, extending its Friday’s 8% rally on BSE, ahead of the board meeting today to review and approve the corporate restructuring plan for the company.
Edelweiss Financial Services has rallied 8% to Rs 75 on BSE after reporting a strong 43% year on year (yoy) growth in consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2014 at Rs 82.86 crore driven by growth in fee income and growth in credit. The company had profit of Rs 57.80 crore in a year ago quarter.
Rajesh Exports has rallied 15% to Rs 186 on BSE on back of heavy volumes after the company announced its plans to foray into gold finance business.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices extended gains and were up 0.6-0.9% each.
Market breadth was strong with 1,224 gainers and 881 losers on the BSE.