Markets trade firm; bankex, metals shine

Markets continued to trade on a firm note; the Sensex was up 149 points at 20,139 and Nifty added 45 points at 5992.

Hindalco Industries led the rally among the Sensex stocks; the stock traded higher by 3.3% at Rs 231. ICICI Bank, Wipro, Sterlite Industries, DLF and State Bank of India were also higher by more than 1.5% each. On the other hand, Hero Honda continued to witness heavy profit-booking; the stock was the top loser down 2.3% to Rs 1934, followed by Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, TCS and ONGC down more than 0.3% each.

The broader markets were also trading higher, the mid-cap index added 51 points at 7609 and the small-cap index was up 83 points at 9304. The BSE 500 market breadth was extremely positive as 351 stocks advanced while 150 stocks declined.

Akzo Nobel was the top mid-cap gainer; the stock was up 8% at Rs 620, ARSS Infra Projects, India Infoline, Core Projects, Spicejet and MVL were also among the gainers up more than 5% each. On the small-cap charts, Bombay Burmah, Shrenuj, Parenteral Drug, Jay Shree Tea and Arshiya International were the major gainers up more than 8.5% each.

On the sectoral charts, BSE banking index- Bankex continued to trade strong, the index added 2.38% or 303 points at 13,082. The BSE metal index also traded higher by 2.29% or 380 points at 17,018. Realty, Oil & Gas and PSU indices were also higher by more than 0.4% each.

Healthcare and FMCG stocks continued to witness the selling pressure; the BSE healthcare index was down 32 points at 6470 and the FMCG index was down by a point at 3543.

Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Federal Bank and Indusind Bank were the major gainers among the banking stocks, traded higher by more than 2%. Among the metal stocks, Hindalco was the top gainer up 3.15% at Rs 230 followed by Bhushan Steel, Sterlite Industries, NMDC and JSW Steel up more than 1.6% each.