The markets have soared in noon trades, building on their strength on the global front. The BSE Sensex is at 19739, albeit off its intra-day high of 19812, up 153 points and the Nifty is at 5942, up 59 points. The midcap index is at 8139, higher by 62 points and the smallcap index is at 10341, up 104 points.
The bourses had opened on a firm note, buoyed by the news that Ireland had formally applied for aid from the European Union and IMF. And the improved sentiment on the Asian and Europe an front has added further cheer to the overall mood. The Asian markets are trading flat-to-positive and the European markets have rebounded into the green after a tentative start, with the FTSE, CAC and DAX up nearly a percent each.
Jaiprakash Associates has jumped 3.6% at Rs 124 to top the gainers list on the BSE. Wipro has strengthened by 3% at Rs 413 and Bharti Airtel has added 2.5% at Rs 337. Tata Steel, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank are the other substantial gainers on the benchmark index. And index heavyweight RIL has added 1.6% at Rs 1013.
Sterlite (weakened by 0.8% at Rs 174 and NTPC (lost 0.5% at Rs 183) are the only losers on the BSE.
The market breadth is positive. Out of 2989 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1782 advancing stocks as against 1125 declines.
