 "RIL, banks help benchmark indices edge higher")
After a flat opening the benchmark indices edged higher in the opening hour on account of gains in banks and index heavyweight, Reliance Industries.
At 1030 hrs, the Sensex was up 111 points at 21,967 and the Nifty gained 36 points trade at 6,552.
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(Updated at 1030 hrs)
Markets started on a flat note in the opening trades with Infosys capping gains in heavyweights like RIL, ITC and ICICI Bank. At 0925 hrs, the Sensex was up 17 points at 21,873 and the Nifty was up 11 points at 6,527.
In the broader markets, the midcap index gained 0.4% and the smallcap index ticked higher by 0.3%, both outperforming the Sensex which was up marginally by 0.1%.
There was some relief on the macro front with the industrial production expanding by 0.1% in January even as manufacturing woes continued, official data showed on Wednesday. CPI inflation came in better than expected, easing to 8.1% in February from 8.8% in January.
Global Markets
In Asia, shares were on the defensive on Thursday as nervous investors tried to limit their exposure to risk, ahead of a batch of key Chinese economic data that may offer clues about the extent of any slowdown.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3% but was still near its lowest levels in two weeks, a day after both European shares and emerging market shares fell to one-month lows.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3% and Australia's benchmark was up 0.4%, led by banks and gold stocks after the precious metal surged 1.3% to a six-month high on China economy and geopolitical fears.
Overnight, US stocks finished little changed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq up for the first session in five, as investors grappled with the evolving situation in Ukraine but shrugged off concern over weakness in China's economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.07%, to 16,340, the S&P 500 gained 0.03%, to 1,868 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.37%, to 4,323.
Sectors and Stocks
IT index down 3.5% and Health Care index down 0.5% were the only sectoral indices in the negative territory.
Banking index up 2% along with Oil & Gas, Metal, FMCG and Auto indices up 1% each were the major sectoral gainers.
Reliance Industries, SBI and ICICI Bank up 2-2.5% were the top gainers among Sensex-30.
Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, Coal India, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Power and Gail India up 1-2% were the other notable gainers.
All the IT majors were in red with Infosys leading the pack, down 7.5%, Wipro down 2% and TCS down 0.4%.
Infosys came under pressure after the company said it continued to see weakness in client spending throughout the current quarter ending March 31, 2014 (Q4), and the company might only be able to meet the lower end of its annual revenue growth guidance for FY14.
Pharma major, Sun Pharma which slipped 5% was the only other stock in the red. The downfall after yesterday’s sharp rally came in after an import alert from the USFDA for one of their Gujarat plants.
At 1030 hrs, the Sensex was up 111 points at 21,967 and the Nifty gained 36 points trade at 6,552.
_____________________
(Updated at 1030 hrs)
Markets started on a flat note in the opening trades with Infosys capping gains in heavyweights like RIL, ITC and ICICI Bank. At 0925 hrs, the Sensex was up 17 points at 21,873 and the Nifty was up 11 points at 6,527.
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In the broader markets, the midcap index gained 0.4% and the smallcap index ticked higher by 0.3%, both outperforming the Sensex which was up marginally by 0.1%.
There was some relief on the macro front with the industrial production expanding by 0.1% in January even as manufacturing woes continued, official data showed on Wednesday. CPI inflation came in better than expected, easing to 8.1% in February from 8.8% in January.
Global Markets
In Asia, shares were on the defensive on Thursday as nervous investors tried to limit their exposure to risk, ahead of a batch of key Chinese economic data that may offer clues about the extent of any slowdown.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3% but was still near its lowest levels in two weeks, a day after both European shares and emerging market shares fell to one-month lows.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3% and Australia's benchmark was up 0.4%, led by banks and gold stocks after the precious metal surged 1.3% to a six-month high on China economy and geopolitical fears.
Overnight, US stocks finished little changed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq up for the first session in five, as investors grappled with the evolving situation in Ukraine but shrugged off concern over weakness in China's economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.07%, to 16,340, the S&P 500 gained 0.03%, to 1,868 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.37%, to 4,323.
Sectors and Stocks
IT index down 3.5% and Health Care index down 0.5% were the only sectoral indices in the negative territory.
Banking index up 2% along with Oil & Gas, Metal, FMCG and Auto indices up 1% each were the major sectoral gainers.
Reliance Industries, SBI and ICICI Bank up 2-2.5% were the top gainers among Sensex-30.
Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, Coal India, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Power and Gail India up 1-2% were the other notable gainers.
All the IT majors were in red with Infosys leading the pack, down 7.5%, Wipro down 2% and TCS down 0.4%.
Infosys came under pressure after the company said it continued to see weakness in client spending throughout the current quarter ending March 31, 2014 (Q4), and the company might only be able to meet the lower end of its annual revenue growth guidance for FY14.
Pharma major, Sun Pharma which slipped 5% was the only other stock in the red. The downfall after yesterday’s sharp rally came in after an import alert from the USFDA for one of their Gujarat plants.