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The market are doing well this afternoon due to the strength in SBI and support from the capital goods and power space. The optimistic cues from the global front would have also contributed to the positive mood on Dalal Street. The Sensex is up 223 points at 24,598 and the Nifty is comfortably above the 7300 mark at 7,337, 61 points. The broader markets are outperformers for the fifth consecutive session; the midcap and smallcap indices have jumped by more than a per cent each at 8635 and 9108 respectively as against half a per cent gains in the benchmark index.
On the global front, the Asian markets have had a positive day. Nikkei, Shanghai, Straits Times and Taiwan have gained upto half a percent each as investors welcomed signs of a turnaround in the world's biggest economies. But the European markets, including the FTSE, CAC and DAX, are trading virtually unchanged due to caution ahead of weekend elections in Ukraine and European Union.
SBI has soared by 5.6% to Rs 2,653, its highest level since May 2011, to top the gainer's list on the BSE. The banking major reported a better-than-expected net profit of Rs 3,041 for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 (Q4FY14).
PSU major BHEL has rallied 2.7% at Rs 271 to make it more than 50% in the past 12 trading sessions on hopes of a revival in the PSU sector and pick-up in economic growth as the Modi government takes charge.
Power stocks are continuing the good run, with Tata Power gaining 6.1% at Rs 105 and NTPC adding 3.3% at Rs 158.
Maruti Suzuki India has risen by 2.3% to Rs 2,318, extending Thursday's 4.4% rally, triggered by an upbeat view on the automobile sector, especially after the BJP's victory in the Lok Sabha polls. Maruti, some experts say, will be among the top beneficiaries of any revival in the auto sector.
Ashok Leyland has jumped to 52-week high of Rs 33, up by a whopping 15.9%, on the BSE after reporting strong Q4 results after market hours on Thursday, 22 May 2014.
ITC has inched higher by 0.5% at Rs 347 after its Q4 net profit rose 18% at Rs 2,276 crore compared to Rs 1,928 crore in the same period last year. Net sales were at Rs 9,145 crore during the same period.
Realty stocks are in demand; DLF, Godrej Properties, Parsvnath Developers, Oberoi Realty and Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL) have gained between 2% and 5% each.
On the other hand, HDFC Bank is trading lower by nearly 2% to Rs 789, extending its past two day's decline, to top the losers list on the BSE on reports that the government has turned down the private sector bank’s proposal to raise the cap on foreign institutional investment to 67.55% from 49%.
The market breadth is strong, with 2256 gainers and 753 losers.
