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Markets have trimmed gains but continue to trade higher led by index heavyweights like HDFC, RIL and ITC. However, the upside is capped due to selling among select shares like Tata Motors and HUL.
At 1250 hours, the Sensex was higher by 144 points at 27,260 and the Nifty gained 34 points at 8,209.
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Updated at 11:40
Benchmark Indices continue to march ahead for the sixth straight session on the back of sustained buying seen in capital goods, financials and select index heavyweights such as HDFC and Reliance Industries.
Also, stronger Asian cues and overnight rally in the US markets has also supported the local equities.
The progress in monsoons and the dovish stance of Federal Reserve on key interest rates hike has also boosted the sentiment of traders.
At 1140 hours, the Sensex was higher by 200 points at 27,316 and the Nifty gained 51 points at 8,225.
The broader markets, however, are underperforming their larger peers with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices trading higher by 0.7% and 0.68%, respectively. The market breadth is positive with 1,331 shares advancing and 790 shares declining on the BSE.
Further, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the reforms introduced in next 2-3 years will help India achieve growth rate targets higher than its current levels of 7-7.5%
Although monsoon has picked up for the month of June, concerns loom over its performance for the next month as per an official from IMD.
Meanwhile, rupee has depreciated by 9 paise to 63.82 levels at the Interbank Foreign Exchange.
SECTORS & STOCKS
Sectorally, all indices are trading in green led by 1.1% gains in BSE Oil &Gas sector, followed by BSE Metal index, up by 1.06%
Hindalco is up over 1.5%. According to media reports, LIC has increased its stake in Aditya Birla-led Hindalco to over 13%.
Tata Steel gained over 1.5% on the Sensex after the company announced that it would be setting up a new company, Tata Steel SEZ in the Special Economic Zone in Odisha.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today said it bagged orders worth Rs 2,278 crore across business verticals in May and June. The stock is up by 1%.
Reliance Industries has extended its gain post the company’s AGM, which was held on June 12. The stock is up by 1.3%.
FMCG pack has gained on the back of a good start to the monsoon. Tata Coffee, Nestle India, Bajaj Corp, and Godfrey Phillip have all gained between 2-5% on the Sensex.
However, HUL has dipped around 0.5%. Hindustan Unilever turns ex-dividend today for final dividend of Rs 9 per share for the year ended 31 March 2015.
Other top gainers are M&M, ONGC, HDFC Wipro, Hero Motocorp, all gaining between 1.5 -3% on the Sensex.
On the losing side, Tata Motors is the biggest loser on the Sensex, dipping around 1.2%.
SMART MOVERS
Shares of DB Realty have surged over 8% to Rs 66 on the BSE after the company signed a Joint Venture (JV) with ECC and Konark to develop residential project namely DB Skypark in Mumbai.
Amtek Auto clarified after trading hours yesterday, 18 June 2015 that the company has not issued FCCB of $70 million. The company issued this clarification to the media reports titled “The Company facing trouble with $70 million FCCB issue. The news is factually not correct, Amtek Auto said. The stock has zoomed 6%.
