Markets recover on RIL strength

Markets rebounded into the green as market heavyweight, Reliance Industries, reversed its trend.

The Sensex had opened on a strong note, mirroring cues on the global front. It touched a high of 18,583 but lost steam thereafter. The index had dropped to a low of 18,304 in late morning trades.

BSE benchmark was trading flat at 18,432.

Nifty was down 13 points at 5,507.

Reliance had dropped to a low of 968 this morning after SEBI sent a show cause notice to the firm on takeover code violation. However, it gained strength in noon trades to touch a high of Rs 1,004 - touching the Rs 1000 mark after eight trading days. The stock gained after reports suggested that it's gas output from east coast block may touch 67 mmscmd in April.

Thanks to RIL, the BSE oil & gas index jumped nearly 1% to 9,716. The other indices in the green were consumer durables, Realty and auto. Meanwhile, healthcare and IT stocks tumbled.

DLF was the biggest gainer among Sensex stocks - up 1.6% at Rs 226.

Bajaj Auto gained 1.3% to Rs 1,405. Maruti Suzuki and ICICI Bank added 0.8% each to Rs 1,028 and Rs 1,265, respectively.

Reliance Communication, Mahindra & Mahindra BHEL and TCS were also in green.

Meanwhile, Sterlite and Jindal Steel dropped 1.5% each to Rs 166 and Rs 662, respectively. Tata Steel slipped 0.6% to Rs 611.

Cipla, NTPC and Bharti Airtel dipped 1% each. HDFC, Infosys, Wipro and Larsen & Toubro were also in the negative zone.

BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2769 stocks traded, 1,170 declined while 1,484 advanced.