Sensex ends up 130 pts

The Sensex ended (provisional) at 18,637 - up 130 points. Nifty ends up 39 points at 5,607.
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(Updated at 1436 hrs)

Markets have rebounded smartly to a high, on the back of buying in index heavyweights. The Sensex recovered 208 points from the day's low to touch a high of 18,689. The BSE benchmark is now up 135 points at 18,641. Nifty is up 44 points at 5,611.

Gains in the European markets triggered by strong corporate results, helped the Indian bourses gain. A meeting of euro-zone leaders is scheduled on Thursday to finalize a bailout package for Greece. CAC has jumped 1% to 3,690. DAX is up 1.5% while FTSE has gained 0.5% ion early trades.

banking major, HDFC Bank came out with Q1 numbers this afternoon. The bank saw a 33.6% rise in Q1 profit, beating street estimates, on strong loan demand and fees income. Its net profit in the June quarter rose to Rs 1,085 crore ($243 million) from Rs 812 crore rupees a year ago. The stock was down 1% at Rs 510.

Analysts expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise key policy rates once again in its first quarter review of the monetary policy on July 26. The move is expected in lieu of the high inflation figures which the government is trying to tackle.

In other news, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton hopes strengthen ties with India in her two-day trip to the country.

Tata Motors slipped 3% to Rs 985 on turning ex-dividend. Hero Honda and Maruti Suzuki slipped nearly 1% each.

Other auto stock, Ashok Leyland, dropped 2.5% to Rs 50.75 after posting a 30% decline in Q1 net. The net profit for the company stood at Rs 86.25 crore as against Rs 122.6 crore (q-o-q). High raw material prices seemed to have impacted the margins.

Wipro, Dr Reddy's, LIC Housing Finance and Dish TV are set to announce their Q1 numbers on Wednesday.