Sensex maintains uptrend; Asian cues positive

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The Nifty was inching up towards the 5400 mark, led by all major largecaps barring ONGC, Bharti and ICICI Bank. Asian markets too extended gains - Shanghai, Hang Seng, Nikkei, Kospi and Taiwan rose 1-2%. Back home, the BSE benchmark was up 135 points at 17,757.19 and the NSE benchmark rose 44 points to 5,379.20.

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Michael Kurtz of Nomura feels India continues to outperform the region, with volumes showing a strong recovery. "With liquidity risks in Europe and hard-landing risks in China continuing to recede, fundamentals are boosting Asia-Pacific equity multiples," he says.

Major largecaps like Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC, HDFC Bank, SBI, L&T, BHEL and Wipro gained 1-2%.

Shares of biggest software services exporter TCS too rose 2% after the company with Mitsubishi set up IT services joint venture.

Metal stocks moved up further - Jindal Steel and Hindalco shot up over 3%. Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries and Coal India rose 1.6-2%.

However, Bharti Airtel retained its top position in the selling list, falling 5.4% post dismal performance in its bottomline. ONGC and ICICI Bank were down over 1%.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks - the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 1.3%.

In the second line shares, HMT, HDIL, Bank of Maharashtra, Indiabulls Real and Chambal Fertiliser gained 6-7.5%.

At 10:28 hours IST : Sensex extends gain; Reliance, SBI, cap goods, IT support

The market was trading higher amid volatility, supported by technology, FMCG, capital goods, metals and realty stocks. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and SBI too were quite supportive. However, Bharti extended fall afterdisappointing bottomline in Q3. The Sensex rose 104 points to 17,726.40 and the Nifty climbed 33 points to 5,367.90.

On the global front, Asian markets gained 0.4-1.5% on optimism that Greece deal may be happened today. Officials said government negotiations with lenders had done.

Back home, technology majors Infosys, TCS and Wipro climbed 1-2%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries continued its uptrend, rising 2%.

Among banks and financials stocks, HDFC and SBI rose 1% each; HDFC Bank moved up just 0.6% while ICICI Bank was down 1.4% after a block deal. Temasek arm sold 1.59 crore shares of the bank at Rs 924/share.

Capital goods majors L&T and BHEL rose 1-2%. Metals stocks like Hindalco, Tata Steel, Sterlite, Coal India and Jindal Steel were up 1-2%.

Shares of DLF topped the buying list, rising 3%. However, ONGC fell over 1% ahead of third quarter numbers.

Bharti Airtel plunged 5% as bottomline numbers were hit by higher interest cost and tax rate in third quarter. Its net profit fell 1.5% to Rs 1,011 crore QoQ.

About 2.5 shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.