Markets on a firm ground

Markets are trading on a firm note in the noon deals. The Sensex is up 107 points at 16,750 and the Nifty has jumped 30 points to 5,049 levels.

The Indian markets opened on higher tracking strong global cues after the euro rose on Thursday as the European bond auctions eased worries about the euro zone debt crisis, while encouraging earnings reports from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America bolstered Wall Street.

Banking, consumer durables and realty stocks are among the top performers on the sectoral front.

The BSE banking index- Bankex has jumped 2.6% or 270 points at 10,811 levels near its two-month high levels after both the food and December headline inflation eased significantly coupled with improving growth outlook.

ICICI Bank is the top gainer among the banking stocks, up 5.4% to Rs 840. Bank of India, Union Bank, Federal Bank, IDBI Bank, Canara Bank, Yes Bank and Axis Bank are also trading higher by 3.3-4.2% each.

The realty stocks continue the positive run. BSE Realty index is up 1.5% at 1,720 levels.Parsvnath Developers, DLF, Unitech, Godrej Properties, Prestige Estates, Phoenix Mills and DB Realty are among the top gainers.

Auto stocks such as Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp have also added 5% and 2.6% each respectively after both the companies posted descent third quarter numbers yesterday.

Wipro is trading higher by 2% at Rs 412 after reporting a 10.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,456 crore for the quarter ended December 31,2011 (Q3) against Rs 1,319 crore in year ago quarter.

However, Coal India is the top Sensex loser, down 3.2% at Rs 339 on reports that the coal ministry will review the new pricing mechanism today. Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC, ONGC and Infosys are also trading weaker by 0.4-2% each.

Reliance Industries is also trading weaker by 0.3% at Rs 782 ahead of its third quarter results which are expected later today.

Healthcare sector stocks are also facing a mild selling pressure. The BSE Healthcare index is down 0.4% at 6,164 levels. Dr Reddy's Lab, Divis Lab, Lupin, Cadila Healthcare, Apollo Hospital and Ranbaxy are among the top losers.

Among the individual shares, Tata Coffee has surged 6% to Rs 918, bouncing back almost 15% from yesterday’s low of Rs 801, on reports that US-based coffee giant Starbucks has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the company and hopes to announce the deal by the month end.

KNR Constructions has rallied 6% to Rs 122 after the company said its joint venture (JV) has received order worth of Rs 207 crore from Government of Andhra Pradesh for construction of major bridge.

Aban Offshore is trading higher by 3% at Rs 453, extending its Thursday’s 5% rally, after the company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary has redeemed bonds worth $160 milion.

Meanwhile, on the earnings front FMCG major ITC has posted a 22.37% rise in net profit of Rs 1,701 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as compared to Rs 1,390 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. The stock is trading lower by 1.2% at Rs 206.

The broader markets have added nearly 1% each. The BSE mid-cap index is up 48 points at 5,718 and the small-cap index is up 46 points at 6,318 levels.

The overall breadth is positive as 1,489 stocks are advancing while 1,083 are declining.