The Sensex has regained the 20k mark this morning, gaining 172 points at 20,061. And the Nifty is up 47 points at 5,994. The BSE benchmark had scaled the mark on the previous day as well only to surrender the advantage in the later half of the session. The broader indices have outperformed the BSE benchmark; the mid-cap is at 7,626 and the small-cap is at 9,310, both up nearly a percent each.
After closing negatively in the previous session, the Bankex has recovered substantially and is the leading the sectoral pack at 13,037 up 2%. Post last week's profit-booking sessions, banking stocks have gained mileage owing to attractive valuations. ICICI Bank is at Rs 1,133 up 3%, followed by IDBI Bank at Rs 165 and Axis Bank at Rs 1,296, both up 2%.
With regard to the banking space, Ritu Arora, CIO, Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance, said, "Banks are the best proxy for GDP growth and given 8.5% to 9% growth. We believe that growth in banks would continue."
Metal stocks are also trading strong on the BSE, with the index touching 16,883 up nearly 1.5%, followed by the Consumer Durables index up 1% at 6,127.
Healthcare scrips are trading flat with a negative bias at 6,502, followed by the IT index at 6,689. Most of the technology firm ADRs had closed negative for the second consecutive day on Monday, with Wipro emerging as the only exception. With the rupee gaining strength, IT stocks are lagging in trade. The top loser in this space is TCS at Rs 1,159, down 1%. Infosys at Rs 3,345 and HCL Technologies at Rs 451 are both trading flat with a negative bias.
