The markets have steadfastly held on to their gains since opening bell. The Sensex is quoting at 17961, higher by 83 points and the Nifty is at 5392, up 25 points. The midcap index is at 7425, higher by 35 points and the samllcap index is at 9488, up 55 points.
The Sensex had opened higher on the back of a firm Wall Street closing and positive cues from Asia, but has been unable to build on the gains and is confined to a narrow range of around 100 points. The BSE benchmark is still shy of the 18k mark tested on the previous day and the Nifty is also below the 5400 mark.
Autos and metals are leading the way. M&M has raced ahead by 2.7% at Rs 619 to emerge as the leading gainer on the Sensex. Tata Motors has added 0.9% at Rs 820 and Maruti has added 0.8% at Rs 1374. Sterlite has strengthened by 1.9% at Rs 169 and Tata Steel has added 1.7% at Rs 518. And index heavyweight RIL has edged higher by 0.4% at Rs 1057.
On the other hand, Heron Honda has weakened by 0.5% at Rs 1942, Tata Power has shed 0.5% at Rs 1321 and HDFC Bank has lost 0.3% at Rs 2036.
The market breadth is positive. Out of 2498 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1633 advancing stocks as against 777 declines.
