Markets end higher led by oil & gas and FMCG stocks

Sensex jumps 165 points to provisionally close at 16,871

The benchmark indices ended higher in trades on Tuesday on the back of buying witnessed by the oil & gas and FMCG stocks. The 30-share Sensex provisionally closed at 16,871, up 165 points and the 50-share Nifty jumped 41 points to provisionally end at 5,106 levels.
--------------------------------------------------------
(Updated at 1440 hours)

Markets have extended gains in the late noon deals on the back of buying visible in the oil & gas and FMCG pockets. The Sensex has jumped 132 points at 16,838 and the 50-share Nifty has advanced 32 points to 5,096 levels. For the most part of the day, the markets traded on a flat note.

Meanwhile, the European markets are trading on a flat note. The CAC 40 index is down 0.2% at 3,059. However, FTSE and DAX are trading higher.

The Asian markets ended on a mixed note with Nikkei, Hang Seng, Taiwan and Shanghai dipping between 0.1-1%. Strait Times and Kospi are trading positive.

Back home, ITC is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 2% to Rs 248. The stock touched a new lifetime high in trades today. Gail (India), ONGC, Reliance Industries, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Wipro are also among the gainers up 1-2% each. On the other hand, Sterlite Industries, BHEL, Infosys, Tata Power, JSPL, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and L&T are among the laggards.

On the sectoral front. oil & gas stocks are witnessing renewed buying interest. The BSE oil & gas index has jumped nearly 2% or 135 points to 7,890. The rally in these stocks is led by oil marketing companies (OMC). Shares of OMCs such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) have rallied 3-7% each on expectation of partial decontrol in diesel price and increase of regulated products price. Heavyweights Reliance Industries, ONGC and GAIL (India) are also among the gainers.

FMCG stocks are also witnessing buying. The BSE FMCG index has advanced 1.4% or or 65 points to 4,822. Godrej is the top gainer from this space, up 2% to Rs 248. Nestle India, Dabur and HUL are also among the gainers.

PSU, healthcare, auto, power and bankex indices are also trading in green. At the same time, IT index is the top sectoral loser, down 0.5% to 5,689 levels. Realty, teck, metal, consumer durables and capital goods indices are also trading lower.

Among the individual stocks, MindTree Limited is trading higher by 2% at Rs 616 after V G Siddhartha, Coffee Day Group’s chairman acquired additional 3.84% stake in the company for around Rs 95 crore from Walden International.

Venus Remedies has moved higher by 6.4% to Rs 222, surging 38% in past six trading sessions after the company has received patent from the US Patent Office for new antibiotic product CSE 1034, which targets drug resistant infections.

The broader markets are trading on a listless note. The BSE mid-cap index is down 0.13% and the small-cap index has shed 0.06%.

The overall breadth is negative as 1,350 stocks are declining while 1,154 are advancing.