Sensex tops 17,000 led by L&T

Markets continue to gain momentum with Sensex topping the 17,000 mark after the CRR cut by the RBI boosted market sentiment. The gains were led by L&T, financials and index heavyweight RIL and Infosys.  

At 1245 hrs, the Sensex zoomed 256 points at 17,008 and they Nifty gained 78 points at 5,124 levels. The Sensex and the Nifty reached an intra-day high of 17,046 levels and 5,141 mark, respectively. 

Capital Goods major Larsen and Toubro maintains the top most position in the Sensex top 30 list, up by nearly 6.

Index heavyweight RIL has gained by nearly 2% after plunging by nearly 3% yesterday on reporting disappointing numbers in the quarter ended December 2011.

BSE Bankex maintains the strong position post the announcement of the policy, up by nearly 3%. SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC and HDFC Bank have surged between 1-2%.

From the technology segment, Infosys, Wipro and TCS have gained by nearly 1% each.

Metal stocks like Tata Steel, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Sterlite have gained between 2-4%.

Among other frontliners, ITC, ONGC, Tata Motors, DLF, M&M, Bharti and Wipro have gained between 2-4%.

The broader markets maintain the positive movement. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained by almost 1% each.

Strides Arcolab has surged 19% to Rs 484 after the company said Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc has agreed to buy Ascent Pharmahealth Ltd, the Australia and Southeast Asia generic pharmaceutical business of the company for Au$375 million in cash.

JSW Energy has soared 10% to Rs 52, extending its yesterday’s 9% rally, after it reported lower losses at Rs 82.67 crore for the third quarter ended December 2011, compared to a loss of Rs 108.92 crore in the preceding quarter (Jul-Sep).

Persistent Systems has rallied 7% to Rs 341 after reporting 25% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) jump in net profit at Rs 40.58 crore for the quarter ended December 2011.

The overall market breadth in BSE remains positive with 1,449 shares advancing and 986 shares declining.