Markets end higher led by L&T

Capital goods index jumps 3%

Markets ended Tuesday's trading session with marginal gains led by engineering major L&T along with index heavyweights Infosys and ICICI Bank. The Sensex jumped 112 points to 16,328 and the Nifty closed at 4,943, up 35 points.

The European markets have opened on a flat note. The CAC 40 index is up 5 points at 3,063, DAX is up 14 points at 6,495 and the FTSE100 has added 15 points to 5,480 levels.

Most of the Asian markets ended in the red. Shanghai ended lower by 6 points at 2,375, Nikkei slipped 73 points to 8,900. However, Hang Seng gained 159 points at 19,894 levels.

Back home, Larsen & Toubro was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, the stocks surged 5.5% to Rs 1,223 extending its previous day’s 2% gain, after the construction and engineering major said it expects a 15-20% growth on the operational income as well as order inflows for FY13.

The company is planning to enter Indonesia, Iraq, Brazil and CIS countries in FY13 to raise its international business, which currently contributes 18% to 25% and offset any possible shortfall in domestic operations.

Sun Pharma, Infosys, Sterlite Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, DLF, ICICI Bank and Hindalco also advanced 2-3% each in trades today.

On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki slipped 2.6% to Rs 1,214 on reports that the company have downscaled its proposed investment plans in Mehasana, Gujarat. Bharti Airtel also slipped 1.3% to Rs 303 after the MoS for Finance said the company was facing investigation under India's money laundering and foreign exchange rules.

NTPC, Gail India, ITC, ONGC, Coal India, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the laggards in trades today.

Buying was visible across the board barring FMCG space. The Capital goods stocks were the top performers. The BSE capital goods index was the top sectoral gainer, up 3% or 272 points to 9,110 levels. Metal, IT, teck, healthcare, realty, bankex and PSU indices also jumped 0.4-2.2% each.

Praj Industries, BEML, Suzlon Energy, Punj Lloyd, Siemens, Alstom Projects and AIA Engineering were the top gainers from this space.

Among the individual stocks, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has ended higher by over 2.5% at Rs 728, near its highest level since November 2010, after the state-owned company said yet another well in the natural gas discovery block located at offshore Mozambique has struck good quality reservoir.

The broader markets ended flat. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 37 points to 5,926 and the small-cap index advanced 20 points to 6,335.

The overall breadth was neutral as 1,362 stocks advanced while 1,331 stocks advanced.