Firm trades continue, Sensex up 75pts

Markets trimmed some of their gains but continued in the green in noon trades. The BSE Sensex is at 15,941, up 76 points while the S&P CNX Nifty is at 4,796, up 23 points. After having kick-started the trading session on a firm note, the BSE benchmark index touched a low of 15,878 and a high of 16,020.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE FMCG, Healthcare and IT indices are leading, up nearly 1% each. ITC, Godrej Consumer Products, Colgate Palmolive and Marico, up 1-2% each, are the prominent gainers among the FMCG stocks.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Strides Arcolab, Cadila Healthcare, up 2% each, are the major gainers from the Healthcare space.

BSE Bankex is the biggest loser, down nearly 2%.

Among the Sensex 30 stocks, JP Associates, HDFC, Tata Motors, ITC and DLF, up 2-4% each, are the prominent gainers. The losers from the pack include SBI, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki and Hindustan Unilever, down 1-3% each.

The overall market breadth is marginally positive as 1,219 stocks have advanced against 1,129 declining ones, on the BSE.