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After a brief dip into the negative territory, benchmark indices regain some of its lost ground as gains in heavyweights like Reliance Industries, TCS and Tata Motors helped the indices edge higher in noon deals.
At 1330 hrs, the Sensex was up 26 points at 21,169 and the Nifty gained 12 points to trade at 6,302.
In the broader markets, the midcap index was up 0.4% and the smallcap index gained 0.3%, both outperforming the Sensex which was up marginally by 0.1%.
Barring FMCG index which was down 0.2%, all the other sectoral indices were in the green.
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(Updated at 1330 hrs)
Benchmark indices are trading higher amid volatility supported by index heavyweight RIL and auto shares. Investors will watch the April-November fiscal deficit reading due today.
By 11:30, the Sensex was higher by 45 points at 21,188 mark and the Nifty gained by 14 points at 6,304 levels.
Adds Ranak Merchant, Technical Analyst – Strategies, Sushil Financial Services, “The day may see some heightened volatility due to NAV propping. Also most global markets being closed global cues would be missing. Absence of FIIs due to holidays also has had its impact as seen in the earlier sessions.
Levels to watch for Nifty would be 6357 on a closing basis for a bullish breakout for the next move to unfold. Events such as Quarterly results, IIP, Inflation and RBI policy to be watched for cues.”
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 116.06 crore on Monday, 30 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
On the global front, Asian stocks edged higher on the last trading session of the year as energy shares advanced. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore were up 0.26% to 0.87%. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted fell 0.1%. Stock markets in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam were closed for holidays.
Back home, the rupee is higher around 61.82/83 versus Monday's close of 61.91/92 on the back of euro gains.
On the sectoral front, BSE Power and Oil & Gas indices are up by nearly 1% each followed by counters like Capital Goods, Realty, Metal, Consumer Durables and Auto, all gaining marginally.
The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Tata Power, RIL, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Tata Motors and Hero Moto.
On the losing side, BHEL, HDFC Bank, Infosys, SBI and Sun Pharma have declined between 0.2-1%.
Among other shares, Jain Irrigation Systems is trading higher by 3% at Rs 73 after the company said it has bagged one of the country’s largest irrigation projects worth Rs 386 crore in Karnataka.
Piramal Enterprises is trading higher by 5% at Rs 582 after the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approved Vodafone's proposal to buy out minority shareholders.
The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up between 0.5-1%.
The market breadth in BSE remains positive 1,251 shares advancing and 783 shares declining.
