The markets have gotten off to a robust start this morning, thanks to a firm close on Wall Street and the positive cues emanating from the Asian Street. The Sensex is quoting at its highest level in nearly two-and-a-half years at 18131, stronger by 157 points and the Nifty is at 5451, up 51 points. The midcap index is quoting at 7442, stronger by 53 points and the smallcap index is at 9459, higher by 65 points.
US stocks had rallied for a sixth straight day after Alcoa's quarterly results heartened investors that had fled to the sidelines on jitters about the sustainability of the economic recovery.The Dow gained 146 points at 10,363 and Nasdaq jumped 43 points at 2,242. And Asia has opened higher, with the Hang Seng strengthening by 273 points at 20,704 and Nikkei adding 270 points at 9,807.
HDFC has emerged as the leading gainer on the BSE ahead of its Q1 results scheduled for the day. The banking heavyweight is quoting at Rs 3127, stronger by 2%. Bharti Airtel has gained 2% at Rs 305 and DLF has added 1.8% at Rs 321.
Metals are continuing their good run. Hindalco has gained 1.35% at Rs 153, Tata Steel has added 1.5% at Rs 516 and Sterlite has added 1.3% at Rs 172. And index heavyweight RIL has inched higher by 0.6% at Rs 1081.
The IT pack is, however, looking sluggish for the second consecutive day. Infosys has shed 0.4% at Rs 2783 and Wipro has lost 0.1% at Rs 405.
The market breadth is positive. Out of 1624 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1343 advancing stocks as against 245 declines.
