Sensex erases early gains; FMCG, ICICI Bk, Infy, L&T drag

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At 14:40 hours IST, the Sensex erased its early gains and was trading with volatility. Private banking and FMCG stocks, and stocks like Infosys, Tata Motors, SAIL, L&T, Hero Honda, Suzlon Energy and DLF were seeing selling pressure. However, buying in oil & gas, telecom, select metal and technology stocks along with SBI was supporting the markets to stay in the green.

Global cues were positive in trade today. European markets were trading nearly 1% higher and US index futures gained 0.5% each. Asian markets ended higher; Nikkei shot up 3.8%. Hang Seng, Jakarta and Kospi were up 1-1.5%. Shanghai, Straits Times and Taiwan were flat.

The Sensex was trading at 17,208, up 38 points and the Nifty rose 11 points to 5,134. The broader indices went up 0.3-1%, as about 1,735 shares advanced while 1,152 shares declined on the BSE. Nearly 547 shares were unchanged.

In the largecaps, Reliance Power and Ranbaxy Labs gained over 4.3%. Reliance Communications, Grasim, ACC, Hindalco, SBI, Siemens and Cipla were up 1.5-2.4%.

However, Tata Motors, HUL, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Reliance Infrastructure, IDFC and Suzlon Energy fell 1-3%.

In the midcap space, Jet Airways, Jubilant, Birla Corp, IndusInd Bank and KGN Industries were up 5-9.6% while Indiabulls Financial, Piramal Health, Asian Star, Amtek Auto and Patel Engg fell 3-5.4%.

In the smallcap space, Bharati Shipyard, Dynamatic Tech, Timken, Nagarjuna Agri and JK Paper gained 10.5-16% while Mastek, Supreme Industries, Zenith Infotech, Nectar Life and Zydus Wellness lost 5-7.5%.