Markets extend gains

Markets are trading strong in the noon trades ahead of Diwali; the Sensex is now up 400 points at 20,865 and Nifty is at 6269 up 109 points.

Meanwhile, the European markets are also trading higher; CAC is up 72 points at 3915, FTSE is at 5839 up 90 points. Most of the Asian markets ended the day on a positive note, with Nikkei adding 198 points to close at 9358, Shanghai ended at 3086 up 55 points, Taiwan Weighted was up 63 points to end at 8357 and Hang Seng is also higher by 382 points at 24,527.

Back home, Tata Motors leads charts, the stock is up more than 4% at Rs 1234 followed by Hindalco, SBI, index heavyweight Reliance Industries and Mahindra & Mahindra. Bharti Airtel and Hero Honda are among the losers.

All the indices are trading in the green, with oil & gas index leading the sectoral pack, up 2.16% or 234 points at 11,081, followed by metals, auto and bankex indices up more than 1.7% each.

The broader markets have underperformed, the small-cap index is up 56 points at 10,865 and mid-cap index is at 8585 up 53 points.

Meanwhile, debutant Coal India is witnessing heavy buying, the stock is trading at Rs 336 up 37%

The market breadth is positive as 1521 stocks are advancing while 1358 stocks are declining.