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Benchmark indices have extended the gains and are trading near day’s high tracking firm Asian cues along with capital goods and power shares leading the gains.
By 10:40, the Sensex was higher by 201 points at 25,598 mark and the Nifty gained by 71 points at 7,654 levels.
Adds Ravi Nathani, technical analyst, Nsetoday.com, ‘Once Nifty closes above 7670 than next target would be 7800 & 8000. Traders strategy would still remain the same "buy on dips".
On the global front, Asian stocks basked in the glow of a record close on Wall Street after bright US jobs data pointed to improving economic momentum, while the dollar gained on Monday on rising US Treasury yields.
US jobs data on Friday showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 217,000 last month, bringing employment back to its pre-recession level and validating the view that labour conditions are improving. The unemployment rate held steady at a 5-1/2 year low of 6.3%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up about 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei stock average added 0.7% in early trading.
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 ended at new records on Friday. For the week, the Dow, the S&P and the Nasdaq Composite all added more than 1%, with the Nasdaq rising 1.9%.
Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1283.04 crore on Friday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The Reserve Bank of India was spotted buying dollars via state-run banks starting around 58.99-59.00, three traders said, continuing its heavy intervention to curb strength in the rupee.
The rupee was at 59.0400/0500 per dollar by 9:49 am, off its session high of 58.98. The currency closed at 59.17/18 on Friday.
On the sectoral front, BSE Realty and Capital Goods indices surged by nearly 3% followed by counters like Power, Banks, Metal, Consumer Durables, Auto, IT and Healthcare, all gaining between 1-2%.
The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Tata Power, L&T, Coal India, Hero Moto, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto, all rising between 2-4%.
Hindustan Zinc is trading higher by 4% to Rs 180 after the Finance Ministry has started the process for fresh valuation of the company, seeking to push through a long-pending sale of the government's residual stake in the company. The government holds 29.5% in Hindustan Zinc.
Hindustan Zinc is trading higher by 4% to Rs 180 after the Finance Ministry has started the process for fresh valuation of the company, seeking to push through a long-pending sale of the government's residual stake in the company. The government holds 29.5% in Hindustan Zinc.
On the losing side, ONGC, HUL, M&M, IT and NTPC have gained between 0.4-2%.
Among other shares, Nectar Lifesciences has rallied 16% to Rs 33.75 on back of heavy volumes on media reports that he promoters of pharmaceutical company are planning to sell their entire stake in the company.
The broader markets are outperforminmg the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have surged between 1-2%. .
The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,918 shares advancing and 537 shares declining.
