Sensex above 19,000

Buying visible across the board

Markets have built on their moring gains at noon on the back of broad-based buying visible in key frontline stocks. The rise comes after the political logjam over allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector seems to have given way to a discussion in Parliament, which allows voting post the debate.

The Sensex has surged 250 points to 19,091 and the 50-share Nifty has advanced 69 points to 5,796.

The Asian markets were also trading on a positive note as sentiment improved after a senior U.S. lawmaker said he was "optimistic" on reaching a budget deal before the end of the year to avoid a fiscal crisis.

Hang Seng was up 225 points or 1% at 21,935, Nikkei advanced 89 points or 1% to 9,397, Seoul Composite advanced 21 points to 1,934 and the Taiwan Weighted jumped 68 points to 7,503.

Back home, most of the Sensex stocks are trading on a positive note. Tata Motors is the top Sensex gainer, up 4.6% at Rs 278. Bajaj Auto, Cipla, HDFC, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's abs, Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Coal India, HDFC Bank and Sterlite Industries are also trading higher by 1.2-4% each. While, Infosys, BHEL and Maruti Suzuki are among the notable laggards.

On the sectoral front, the BSE realty index is the top gainer, up 3% or 59 points at 1,995. Auto, bankex, capital goods, oil & gas, consumer durables and FMCG indices are also up 1-2% each.

Among the individual stocks, ABG Infralogistics has galloped 17% to Rs 117 on reports that the company is close to clinch a tender for container handling at the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT).

Strides Arcolab is trading higher by 2% at Rs 1,147 after the company said that its wholly owned subsidiary has received ANDA approval for Ifosfamide injection for 50 mg.

GMR Infrastructure is trading lower by 4% at Rs 17.35, hits a record low of Rs 16.75 in early trades after the Maldives government terminated the $500 million airport project to be built at Male.

The broader markets are also trading higher. The BSE mid-cap index is up 1% at 6,818 and the small-cap index has advanced 0.6% to 7,228 levels.

The overall breadth is positive as 1,586 stocks are advancing while 989 are declining.