Sensex up over 150 points; Bharti Airtel up 5%

Markets have gained momentum during the morning trades have gained over half a percent each. Fresh buying in Bharti Airtel, RIL and HDFC Bank have contibuted the most to the rise on the 30-share index.
 

At 10.35 AM, the Sensex is up 162 points at 25,877 levels and Nifty is up 45 points at 7,729 levels.

 

Bharti Airtel, ITC, RIL, HDFC Bank and Sun pharma are the top gainers on the BSE. In contrast, Wipro, GAIL and ICICI Bank are the losers on the BSE  

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           (updated at 10.40 AM)
Markets continued to remain stable in early trades on Tuesday with the Nifty holding on to 7,700 levels led by index heavyweights ITC and RIL.

However,  markets seem to have shrugged off the geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.

At 9.50 AM, the Sensex is up 95 points at 25,810 and Nifty is up 27 points at 7,711 levels 

 

The broader markets are trading in tandem with the large counterparts with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.5% each.

 

Global Markets

 

Asian stocks edged up in early trading on Tuesday, though the upside was capped by lingering concerns about the Ukraine crisis and violence in Gaza which pressured U.S. yields and the dollar.

 

Malaysia has reached an agreement with the leader of the separatist group to retrieve the bodies of the victims from last week's downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet as well as the plane's two black boxes, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Tuesday.

 

Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian death toll jumped to more than 500 and Israeli losses mounted as well, as the United States stepped up efforts to secure a ceasefire.

 

U.S. shares slumped overnight, as the rising global tensions offset some upbeat U.S. earnings. So far this reporting period, 66 percent of S&P 500 companies have topped Wall Street's profit expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data, above the 63 percent average since 1994.

 

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The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 60.25 per dollar compared with close of Rs 60.30 on Monday. Dollar holds steady against major currencies  as investors reduced holdings of stocks and other risky assets on anxiety about escalating violence in Gaza and Ukraine.

 

Sectors & Stocks

 

On the sectoral front, all indices are trading in green with BSE Realty leading the rally up 1% followed by FMCG, Healthcare, Capital goods and Power indices . BSE IT and Auto indices are trading flat.

 

 Among gainers, Idea Cellular is trading 3% higher at Rs 144 on BSE after reporting a strong 57% year on year (yoy) jumped in consolidated net profit at Rs 728 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1), on the back of higher call rates and a 11.5% growth in data usage. Following the rally, Bharti Airtel is up over 2%

 

The $4-billion merger of Ranbaxy Labs with Sun Pharmaceutical has got clearance from the two leading stock exchanges -- BSE and NSE. Sun Pharma is up 1.5%. Cipla and Dr Reddy’s Lab are up nearly 0.5%

 

In the power space, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) has allowed Tata Power and Adani Power to recover power dues from March 2013 on account of rise in imported fuel cost. Tata Power is up 1.2%.

 

In the oil and gas space, RIL is extending its yesterday’s rally and is up 0.6%. ONGC is up 0.5%

 

In the Capital goods pack, L&T and BHEL are up 1%

 

Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC is up 1% on the back of advancements of monsoon rains.  

 

Indoco Remedies has surged 14% to Rs 187 on BSE after the pharmaceuticals company said it has received a nod from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for two of its facilities in Goa.

 

Some prominent names in green are SBI, Coal India, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto among others

 

In contrast, IT major Wipro and Tata Motors are trading in the negative territory down between 0.2-1%.

 

The market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1,179 shares advancing and 562 shares declining.