Earnings optimism lifts market sentiment; Nifty spikes 43 pts

Stocks staged a smart rebound after two days of sell-off as better-than-expected corporate earnings from heavyweights boosted investor sentiment with the benchmark Nifty surging by a healthy 43 points on the National Stock Exchange(NSE).
Robust buying in financials, healthcare, FMCG, auto, energy and metal counters spearheaded the recovery momentum.
Though investors remained circumspect it being earnings season with some hesitation ahead of July series expiry tomorrow, bourses witnessed a remarkable turnaround in mid-afternoon session led by pharma stocks after Lupin and Dr Reddy's reported strong quarterly numbers.
Hectic short-covering activity as well as low level buying also aided the sentiment at fag-end. But continued profit taking in technology and infra related pivotals capped gains.

Value buying re-emerged after investors chipped into sectors which recently had not performed, a trader commented.
Elsewhere, Asian equities too surged ahead to touch multi-year highs bolstered by recent upbeat Chinese macro data from the world's second-largest economy as well as corporate earnings, while European stocks are mildly lower ahead of the important US economic data and monetary policy outcome.

The 50-share index oscillated between a high of 7,798.70 and low of 7,707.60 before concluding at 7,791.40, a rise of 42.70 points, or 0.55 per cent. It had lost 82 points in last two sessions after retreating from historic highs.

Among the Nifty stocks, India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel and drug major Lupin topped the buying list after posting solid growth in Q1 earnings. Other smart gainers included PNB, DLF, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Ultracemco, Hindalco, Bank of Baroda and Heromotoco.
However, engineering and construction major L&T plunged 7 percent reacting to weak June quarter earnings which failed to meet market expectations. Jindal Steel, Tata Power, TechM, United Spirits, Wipro, SBIN, HCL-Tech, Tata Steel and NMDC were the other losers.
Turnover in the cash segment jumped to Rs 18,465.01 crore from Rs 13,342.45 crore on Monday. A total of 8,417.01 lakh shares changed hands in 76,12,928 trades, while total market capitalisation stood at Rs 88,73,456 crore.