Sensex stays higher; Tata Motors tops buy list

ALSO READ See Key Market Stats - Top Gainers/ Losers, Most Actives, Highs/Lows See how Global Markets are trading Indian ADRs

At 11:51 hours IST : Volatile Sensex trades higher; broader markets outperform

The market was trading higher with moderate gains amid volatility, supported by Infosys, Reliance Industries, SBI and Bharti Airtel. However, the fall in private banks, L&T and ONGC limited the upside. The Sensex was up 62 points at 17,058.07 and the Nifty gained 16 points at 5,143.45.

The current series will expire today on account of holiday tomorrow. Hemant Thukral of Aditya Birla Money says, if the Nifty approaches 5180 today which I feel it will happen in the afternoon, then one should start buying 5000 puts and wait for next 3-4 sessions.

Metals and mining stocks like Tata Steel, Coal India and Sterlite Industries were up around 2%.

Heavyweights like TCS, SBI and Bharti Airtel climbed 1.5%. Reliance Industries was up 0.8% and Infosys gained 1.1%.

In the auto space, Tata Motors rallied 2.4% and Maruti rose 1.8% while Hero Motocorp fell 0.85%.

On the flip side, shares of ICICI Bank, L&T and Tata Power dropped over 1%. HDFC Bank and ONGC were moderately lower.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks - the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up over 1%.

In the second line shares, Aurobindo Pharma, Shipping Corp, Sintex Industries, ILandFS Transport and Strides Arcolab gained 5-7%.

Smallcap stocks like Zensar Tech, Vascon Engg, Parekh Aluminex, Indo Rama and ESS DEE shot up 9-15%.

At 10:22 hours IST : Nifty volatile ahead of expiry; L&T, ICICI Bank decline

The market was consolidating around previous day's closing value ahead of expiry today. Major largecaps like TCS, Infosys and SBI were supporting the market while ICICI Bank and L&T were under pressure. The Sensex was up 28 points at 17,023.97 and the Nifty gained 4.4 points at 5,131.75.

UR Bhat, MD of Dalton Capital Advisors feels the Nifty will probably kiss 5200 possibly. "That is likely the reaction to the CRR cut yesterday which was unexpected. Plus we had couple of billion dollars come into equity markets through FIIs month-to-date and year-to-date," he reasoned.

According to him, the Nifty is likely to be in the board range of 4500-5200 going ahead.

Shares of Tata Motors, Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel were biggest gainers, rising 2-2.4% each.

Major largecaps like Infosys, TCS, HDFC, ITC, Bharti Airtel, SBI, BHEL, Hindalco and Coal India moved up 0.4-1.4%.

Even index heavyweight Reliance Industries was still in green. However, ICICI Bank and L&T fell 1-1.4% led by profit booking.

Shares of country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp continued its fall, losing 1.4% today. JSPL, HUL, Tata Power and Cipla were down 0.4-1%.

The market breadth was positive; about 1412 shares advanced while 665 shares declined on the BSE. The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.7% and Smallcap up 0.9%.

At 9:19 hours IST : Sensex above 17000 on positive Asian cues

Sensex opened the last expiry session hitting above the 17,000-mark amid volatility on positive Asian cues. Capital goods, banks, metals and oil & gas stocks were lending support. The BSE benchmark was up 85 points at 17,080.24 and the Nifty rose 24 points to 5,151.15.

Asian markets like Nikkei, Straits Times and Kospi gained nearly 1% while rest of the markets are shut today.

Cairn rallied 3% post better than expected numbers yesterday. The Cairn and Vedanta deal has even received cabinet's final approval on Tuesday.

Frontliners like Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, SAIL, DLF, JP Associates, BHEL, SBI, HDFC Bank, IDFC, Tata Motors, TCS, Wipro, HDFC, Reliance Infra, Reliance Power and L&T were up 0.5-1%.

However, Hero Motocorp, Maruti, HUL and ITC were moderately lower in early trade.

The CNX Midcap Index rose 44 points to 6,998. About three shares advanced for every share falling on the National Stock Exchange.

Earnings Impact: 3i Infotech tanked 6% post disappointing earnings. Biocon fell 2.5% while Indiabulls Real gained 2%.

Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank moved up more than a percent ahead of earnings today.

GMR Infra, Shasun Pharma and Dishman Pharma shot up 4.5% each.

Century Textiles, Kalindee Rail, Apollo Tyres, Tata Coffee and Essar Oil were up 1.5-3%.

The US equity markets end flat due to mixed set of earnings in Q4 and unsolved Greece deal.