Sensex gains 100 pts amid volatility; Dow futures up 1%

The market gained further ahead of expiry, supported by heavyweights ONGC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, ITC, HDFC, ICICI Bank and BHEL. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq futures were quite supportive, gaining 1% each. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 38 points to 4,983.80 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 135 points at 16,580.93.

Leading gainers like ONGC, Infosys and HDFC Bank rallied 2.7% each. ITC, HDFC, HUL, ICICI Bank, M&M, BHEL, Maruti and Bajaj Auto rose 1-2%. TCS and NTPC moved up over 0.5%.

Jaiprakash Associates was the biggest gainer on Nifty - the stock shot up more than 5%.

However, Reliance Industries was still trading marginally lower, though it showed smart recovery from day's low. SBI was down over 1% and L&T declined nearly 3%.

Sesa Goa, GAIL, Sun Pharma and Sterlite Industries were down 1-2.5%.

On the global front, European markets were choppy ahead of voting results on July's European Union agreement. France's CAC and Germany's DAX went up 0.2-0.5% while Britain's FTSE fell 0.45%.

At 12:31 hours IST : Nifty turns positive; HDFC Bank, ONGC, Infosys lead

Indian equity benchmarks turned positive in afternoon trade amid volatility, after trading lower in the morning part. Private banks, FMCG, technology and select auto stocks helped the market to get back into green. ONGC too was quite supportive with 1% gain. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 53.48 points to 16,499.50 and the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped just 15 points to 4,961.15.

However, selling continued in metal and select heavyweights like Reliance Industries, NTPC, L&T and SBI.

Among largecaps, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys and M&M surged 2-2.7%. Jaiprakash Associates was the biggest gainer - the stock shot up 4%.

ONGC, ITC, TCS, HUL, ICICI Bank and BHEL rose 0.5-1%.

However, L&T plunged 3% for the second consecutive session today. Heavyweight SBI lost 2%. Reliance Industries, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were down 0.5%.

On the global front, select Asian markets too were trading higher barring Shanghai. Nikkei gained 1% and Taiwan rose 0.5%. Kospi surged 2.7%. However, Shanghai fell 1%.

At 11:15 hours IST : Sensex choppy ahead of expiry; L&T, SBI, NTPC, RIL down

Indian equities remain nervous ahead of expiry today and have fallen half a percent amid choppy trade. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 77.43 points to 16,368.59 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 23.25 points to 4,922.65.

The sentiment is very cautious currently, feels Nirmal Jain of IIFL.