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Markets retained its early gains in the noon trades with the Sensex up 173 points at 19,847 and the Nifty added 30 points to trade around 6,030, which is a three month high. The gains were on account of gains in banks, ITC and Tata Motors. Also, sustained interest from FIIs helped the upmove.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of 8.97 billion rupees of stocks on Monday, taking the 2013 net buying to a total of $12.17 billion, provisional exchange data showed.
In the broader markets, the midcap index gained 0.6% and the smallcap index was up 0.5%, both underperforming the BSE benchmark index which was up nearly 1%.
Meanwhile, Asian markets edged higher with several markets closing at multi week highs. The Nikkei average jumped 3.6% to14,180 its highest closing level since June 2008 with exporters leading the gains.
Hong Kong shares ended at multi-week highs in choppy trades investors braced for a slew of economic data from China that could offer fresh clues on the recovery in the world's second-largest economy. The Hang Seng Index closed up 0.6% at 23,047 and the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.2%
In Europe, markets edged higher on the back of strong earnings from major banks. Germany’s DAX traded higher by 0.3%, France’s CAC added 0.1% and FTSE inched up 0.2%.
Back home, among the sectoral indices, FMCG, Bankex, Realty, Consumer Durables and Auto indices gained 1% each. Power, Capital Goods, Health Care, PSU and Metal indices added 0.4-0.8%. However It index was almost flat with a positive bias.
The top gainers among the Sensex- 30 were Bharti Airtel, Jindal Steel, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, ITC, ICICI Bank, NTPC,BHEL and HDFC Bank up 1.5-3%.
HDFC Bank, SBI, Hindalco, L&T, Bajaj Auto and Sun Pharma up 1-1.5% were the other notable gainers.
Among the ones in the red were Wipro, Coal India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Dr Reddys Lab up 1-1.7%.
Maruti Suzuki down 0.2% and HDFC down 0.1% rounded off the negative list.
Among other stocks, Allahabad Bank dipped 4% to Rs 128 on reporting 69% year-on-year fall in its net profit at Rs 126 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, due to higher provisioning for bad loans and lower net interest income.
Aban Offshore surged 4% to Rs 330 after oil exploration and production firm said it has signed contract for the deployment of the jack-up rig Deep Driller 7 offshore Mexico for a firm period of 1005 days, ending December 31, 2015.
M&M Financial Services rallied 7% to Rs 251, also its record high on BSE, after the company said it seeks shareholders approval via postal ballot to increase in the borrowing limit for expansions and to meet increased financial needs of the company.
Lanco Industries surged 17% to Rs 23.30 after the company said it has decided to withdraw its proposal to set up a mini cement plant in Andhra Pradesh.
The market breadth was positive. 1,244 stocks advanced while 1,054 stocks declined on the BSE.
