Markets remain firm, Sensex up 450pts

Markets continued to trade on a firm note in the noon deals on back of positive global cues and renewed buying interest shown by investors. The Sensex advanced 452 points to 16,504 and the Nifty was higher by 137 points to 4,973 levels.

According to Ranak Merchant, Technical Analyst from Sushil Financial Services, "going forward the Bullish trigger for Nifty is at 4930, and we manage to hold above the same, we can definitely see an extension of the rally."

Meanwhile, the European markets have also opened higher. The CAC 40 index opened at 2,931, up 2.5%, FTSE opened at 5,195, up 2% and the DAX advanced 154 points to 5,499.

Back home, all the Sensex stocks were trading higher. Tata Motors was the top gainer. The stock advanced 5.2% to Rs 155. J P Associates added 5.2% to Rs 73. DLF, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Wipro, Sterlite Industries, Tata Power and TCS also advanced 3%-4.7% each in trades thus far.

Reliance Capital is in limelight today after the company proposed bonus issue and special dividend to its shareholders. Chairman of the company Anil Ambani said at its AGM. BEML also soared 3% after the company secured order worth Rs 230 crore from the largest coal miner- Coal India.

Buying was visible aacross the board as all the sectoral indices were trading higher, BSE Realty index was the top sectoral gainer, up 58 points or 3.4% to 1,766. Consumer Durables index added 3% to 6,505. Oil & Gas, Bankex and IT indices added 2.4%-2.6% each. Metal stocks witnessed fresh buying after being battered badly. The BSE metal index added 2% or 237 points to 11,420. Auto, Power, Healthcare, Capital Goods and FMCG indices were trading on a firm note.

DLF was the top gainer among the realty stocks, up 5% to Rs 210. Indiabulls Real Estate, HDIL, D B Realty, Unitech, Peninsula Land and Sobha Developers were also among the top gainers. In the consumer durables pack, Rajesh Exports was the top gainer. It was followed by Whirlpool, VIP Industries, Gitanjali Gems, Titan Industries and Videocon Industries.

The broader markets also edged higher. The BSE mid-cap index jumped 97 points to 6,228 and the small-cap index was at 7,025, up 101 points.

Meanwhile, the overall market breadth was extremely positive as 1,818 stocks are advancing while 734 stocks are declining.