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Markets continued to trade firm in the morning session with buying interest visible in oil & gas shares. The Sensex is at the high point of the day - up 153 points at 19,857. Nifty is up 46 points at 6,029.
Broader markets have advanced in line with the Sensex. The BSE mid-cap index is up 0.8% at 6439 while small-cap index is up 0.9% at 6,048.
Oil & gas index has surged 1.7% at 8723 on the back of Reliance. Healthcare and consumer durables indices are also in the green.
Among individual stocks, Jet Airways (India) has dipped 3.4% to Rs 543 after reporting a higher net loss at Rs 496 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (Q4) due to higher fuel prices, weak rupee against US dollar and other exceptional items. The company had a loss of Rs 298 crore in a year ago quarter.
Britannia Industries has soared 14% to Rs 652 after reporting a robust 66% year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 88 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31.2013 due to lower raw material cost and other expenditure. The company had reported net profit of Rs 53 crore during the same quarter previous fiscal.
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(Updated at 0945 hrs)
Indian stocks has opened flat and is likely witness volatility ahead of the May derivative contracts which expire on Thursday as traders roll over positions to June series. The Sensex is up 136 points at 19,841. Nifty is up 42 points at 6,025.
Benchmark US share indices ended flat on Friday on worries over US Federal Reserve Bank's decision to curtail the on-going stimulus measures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 9 points to end at 15,303, the tech-laden Nasdaq ended flat at 3,459 and the S&P 500 ended down 1 point at 1,650.
Stocks in Asia were trading mixed in early trades. The Nikkei was down over 3 per cent and Straits Times slipped 0.3 per cent while South Korea's KOSPI and Taiwan Weighted were trading with marginal gains.
According to technical experts, the NSE Nifty may attempt a pull-back in the near term given the sharp sell-off. However, the overall trend is likely to remain bearish as long as the index sustains below 6,130. Today, the NSE index is likely to seek support around 5,955-5,935, while face resistance around 6,015-6,035.
BSE Oil & gas index has jumped 1% to 8,654 on the back of gains in Reliance. Consumer durables index is up 0.7%, followed by PSU, healthcare and FMCG indices. Meanwhile, the auto index has slumped 1% with continued weakness in auto shares. IT index is also in the red.
Reliance has surged 3.7% at Rs 817 after the company and its partners BO and Niko late Friday announced a significant gas and condensate named 'D-55' in the KG-D6 block off the eastern coast of India.
Bharti Airtel has added 2.3%, followed by Sun Pharma, Coal India and Hindalco. However, Mahindra & Mahindra has slipped 1.5% at Rs 952. Cipla is down 1%, followed by auto shares such as Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki.
Britannia Industries has soared 13% to Rs 649 as the company announced 66% jump in net profit to Rs 87.85 crore for the fourth quarter and 25% rise in net profit to Rs 233.87 crore for the year ended March 31, 2013.
