Nifty rises 0.5% on heavyweights' support

The market moved up over half a percent led by short covering. It was supported by all index heavyweights like SBI, ICICI Bank, L&T, Infosys and Reliance Industries. The Sensex was up 87 points at 15,631 and the Nifty rose 26 points to 4,672.

Among banks and financials stocks, HDFC and ICICI Bank went up 1.4% each; SBI was up 0.9% and HDFC Bank up 0.4%.

Technology stocks like Infosys, TCS and Wipro gained 0.4-0.9%. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ONGC were up 0.4% and 1%, respectively.

Shares of country's largest commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors topped the buying list, rising 2%. Hero Motocorp and Maruti rose 0.7% each.

Among others, ITC, L&T and BHEL moved up 0.5% each. However, HUL, Bajaj Auto, JSPL and M&M fell 0.4-0.9%.

In the second line shares, Network 18, Kwality Dairy, HMT, Polaris Tech and DB Realty rallied 4-6.5% while Shree Global, KSK Energy Ventures, IFCI, Dewan Housing and Infotech Enterprises fell 2.5-5%.

In the smallcap space, STC India, Dredging Corp, Hanung Toys, Kiri Industries and Petron Engg jumped 6-12%. However, Sahara One, PG Electroplast, Essel Propack, Bedmutha Industries and PFL Infotech dropped 5-8%.

The market breadth remained positive; about 1391 shares advanced while 999 shares declined on the BSE.

Most active shares on exchanges were Reliance Industries, SBI, L&T, Nestle, Gitanjali Gems, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

At 10:39 hours IST : Sensex holds on to early gains; banks, tech, oil & gas up

The Sensex maintained its uptrend amid choppy trade, supported by major sectors like banks, technology, auto, metals and oil & gas. Even major Asian markets like Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei continued to trade higher with 0.4-0.8% gains. The Sensex was up 88 points at 15,631.93 and the Nifty jumped 26 points to 4,671.95.

This definitely isn't cheering up experts for the while. Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com is not bullish on the market. Considering it is a new settlement period (first day of Januray series), Sukhani advised traders to enter the market only towards the afternoon, when the choppiness recedes a bit.

Shares of country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank bounced back after last three-day fall, rising 1.4%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries too turned positive with mild gains.

Frontrunners like HDFC, TCS, Tata Motors and SBI too were up 0.9-1.6%. Among others, Infosys, ITC, Bharti, M&M, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Hero Motocorp, Tata Steel and Wipro gained 0.3-0.6%.

However, shares L&T, NTPC and HUL turned negative, falling 0.4%. Bajaj Auto topped the selling list, losing 1%.

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At 9:19 hours IST : Sensex rebounds; ICICI Bank, Bharti, SBI lead

The Sensex rebounded after a fall in previous three sessions, opening with a 50 points gap up on the last session of year 2011. It was aided by positive global cues post bullish US housing and employment data. Major Asian markets like Shanghai, Nikkei and Hang Seng were up 0.4-0.8%.

The Sensex was up 50 points at 15,594.16 and the Nifty went up 16 points to 4,662.10.

Shares of ICICI Bank, L&T, SBI, Infosys, Reliance, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, Ranbaxy, Tata Motors, JP Associates, BHEL and Bharti Airtel were leading the markets.

However, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Jindal Steel and Sun Pharma were down.

The CNX Midcap rose 29 points to 6,107. The market breadth too was positive; about two shares advanced for every share falling on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, GTL shot up 4% after the board members approved corporate debt restructuring plan. GTL Infra gained 2%.

Godrej Properties rallied 2% as the company sold 49% stake in arm developing Gurgaon project to SUN-Apollo.

Firstsource, PFC, Hotel Leela, Jyothy Labs, GVK Power, IVRCL, Yes Bank, Shree Renuka, Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini and REC gained 1-4%.

Jaypee Infra, IFCI and GMR Infra slipped 1-2%.