)
Benchmark indices are trading near the day’s highs, with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining by nearly 1% each led by metal and power shares.
At 14:15, the Sensex was higher by 195 points at 25,000 and the Nifty gained 65 points at 7,467.
Adds A K Prabhakar, independent market analyst,” Nifty holding 7350 mark and then moving on the higher side of 7750 & 7900 ahead of budget is possible. Stocks are doing good and that would continue.”
On the global front, Japanese stocks ended at near three-month highs on Thursday as the weak-yen trend supported the mood, but gains were limited as investors took a breather from sharp recent gains ahead of key events such as a U.S. jobs report on Friday.
The Nikkei ended 0.1% higher at 15,079.37, the highest closing level since March 11.
Back home, the rupee ruled steady at 59.32 against the American currency due to uneven demand and supply of dollars.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 192.56 crore on Wednesday, 4 June 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
On the sectoral front, BSE Metal index has surged by nearly 3%, followed by counters such as Power, Capital Goods, Realty, Consumer Durables, Auto and FMCG, all gaining 1-2% each.
The main gainers on the Sensex are Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco, HUL, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Wipro and HDFC.
On the losing side, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, M & M, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have declined by 1% each.
The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained between 1-2%.
The market breadth in BSE remains firm, with 2,084 shares advancing and 817 shares declining.
