Nifty eyes 8100, Sensex steady; IT, metals, banks surge

Moneycontrol Bureau11:50 am Interview: Bharat Madan, Group Financial Controller at Escorts expects the tractor volume to be sluggish in the second quarter due to deficient monsoons. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he says that festive season and base effects will boost tractor volumes in third quarter. He expects a 15-20 percent overall volume growth in FY16. Madan expects 2-3 percent margin improvement in its tractor business for the year. With better volume and sales, margins will start expanding Q3 onwards, he adds. Sales in second half will be better than the first half of the year by nearly 15 percent, he says adding that he expects a 3-4 percent sales improvement for the year.

11:30 am Market call: VK Sharma of HDFC Securities believes that 8100 is a good buy level for the Nifty. Initiatives by US Federal Reserve and Reserve Bank of India will boost market sentiment, added Deven Choksey of KRChoksey Investment Mangers. Choksey says 8050-8150 is a good support level at present. He doesn't expect the Nifty to breach 7600 level in near future. Sharma is bullish on pharmaceutical stocks as he expects the sector to perform relatively better in case of fall in market. He has buy call on Cipla at Rs 680, Lupin at Rs 1,900 and Dr Reddy ’s at Rs 4,200. Don't miss: 15 midcaps that defied market crash

The market is gushing with some strong gains led by banks, IT, metals and cappital goods. The Sensex is up 392.51 points or 1.5 percent at 26623.70 and the Nifty is up 122.65 points or 1.5 percent at 8071.60. About 1651 shares have advanced, 540 shares declined, and 62 shares are unchanged.

Vedanta, ONGC, NTPC, Hindalco and Bajaj Auto are top gainers while Lupin, M&M and ITC are laggards in the Sensex.

Crude oil futures rose 2.37 percent to Rs 2,855 per barrel today as speculators widened positions amid a firm trend in Asia.

Analysts attributed the rise in crude oil futures to a firming trend in Asian trade today where it extended gains following a 10 percent price surge in the previous session fuelled by strong US economic data.