Markets remain strong, Maruti Suzuki jumps 7%

Markets continue to trade on a strong note in the noon deals on the back of buying visible across the board. The Sensex is up 262 points at 16,452 and the Nifty has jumped 80 points to 4,953 levels.

According to Rakesh Gandhi, Senior Technical Analyst- Advisory with LKP Securities, "as per charts 4,975 and then 5,050 are key levels to be watched and on the down side the trend can spoil only if 4,800 is broken."

Maruti Suzuki is the top Sensex gainer the stock has surged 7.4% to Rs 1,078 on reports that the company has raised prices of all its vehicles by 0.3-3.4% due to high input costs and rupee depreciation. Metal and mining shares such as Sterlite Industries, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Coal India and Jindal Steel have also rallied 2.6-6.4% each after China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded faster than expected. China is the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum.

DLF, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Wipro, NTPC and Hero MotoCorp are also among the gainers.

However, ITC is the only loser among the Sensex stocks.

Buying is visible across the board. BSE Realty index is the top sectoral gainer, up 4.3% or 67 points to 1,641 levels. Metal, Capital Goods, Auto, Oil & Gas Power, PSU and Bankex indices are also trading higher by 1.6-3.7% each.

Rate sensitive sector stocks are trading higher after December headline inflation fell to a two-year low of 7.47% which may prompt the Reserve Bank to cut policy rates at its policy review meet on January 24.  Realty stocks such as HDIL, Oberoi Realty,  D B Realty, Unitech, Prestige Estates, DLF, Sobha Developers and Anant Raj Industries have added 2.15-7.3% each.

Shares of aviation companies have taken off ahead of a group of ministers (GoM) meeting later today to consider a proposal to allow foreign airlines to acquire stake in domestic air carriers.

Reliance Communications (RCom) rallied 6% to Rs 91.30 after the company said it has tied up refinancing of its foreign currency convertible bonds at a lower cost.

Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals is trading higher by 4% at Rs 49.25 after the company announced the acquisition of Creapharm Parenterals, a subsidiary of France based Greapharm Group.

The broader markets are in line with the benchmark indices, The BSE mid-cap index is up 1.6% or 88 points at 5,688 levels and the small-cap index has advanced 94 points to 6,286 levels.

The overall breadth is extremely positive as 1,826 stocks are advancing while 792 are declining.