Sensex rangebound; JP Associates, HUL, Hero Honda gain

Upside in financial, technology, FMCG and steel companies' shares was supporting the Nifty to hold the 5600-mark amid a choppy trade. The index maintained positive trend for eighth consecutive session today, adding more than 300 points.
 
Heavyweights Reliance Industies, NTPC and L&T too were on buyers' radar. However, cement, healthcare and PSU oil & gas companies' shares were under pressure, which limited the upside.
 
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed just 65 points to 18,759 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 16 points to 5,616.
 
Jaiprakash Associates was the biggest gainer on Nifty today on short covering, with rising nearly 4%. HUL, Hero Honda, Jindal Steel, SBI and SAIL went up 1-2%.
 
However, Bharti Airtel tumbled 3%. Cipla, ONGC, Tata Motors, Ranbaxy Labs and Sesa Goa were down 0.7-1.7%.
 
Jubilant Foodworks, Lovable Lingerie, SBI, Timbor Home, Titan Industries, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and MindTree were most active shares on exchanges.
 
In the midcap space, MindTree, Godfrey Phillip, 3M India, Rashtriya Chemical and Gillette India rallied 5-11% while SpiceJet, Jain Irrigation, Dewan Housing, Sadbhav Eng and Himadri Chemical lost 2.5-5%.
 
In the smallcap space, Supreme Infra surged 14%. KRBL, Asian Hotel (E), Aptech and Lovable Lingerie gained 5-10%. However, SV Electricals, Newtime Infra, Centrum Finance, Binny and Gemini Communications fell 3-5%.

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Nifty trades higher amid volatility; Bharti, ONGC down

Indian equity benchmarks were trading higher with marginal gains today, backed by financial, FMCG, technology, realty and steel companies' shares. Heavyweights Reliance Industries and NTPC too were leading the market, with rising over 1%.

Upside too continued on the global markets after Greek Parliament approved austerity package for the country to avoid debt default. Asian markets like Shanghai, Hang Seng and Straits Times were up 1-1.7%. Kospi and Taiwan were up 0.5%. Nikkei went up 0.2%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 18,761, up 68 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 17 points to 5,617 amid volatility ahead of expiry today. The broader indices too were trading with moderate gains.

Vineet Bhatnagar, managing director at MF Global said roll-overs have been positive and encouraging in the F&O segment on the back of upbeat sentiment seen from foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

He added that implied volatilities (IVs) are also looking comfortable and there is room for Nifty to rally 100-150 points further from yesterday's close.

However, PSU oil & gas companies' shares were on sellers' radar after sharp rise in oil prices yesterday. NYMEX crude was trading above USD 95 a barrel. ONGC fell over 1% and BPCL lost 2%.

Bharti Airtel was the top loser on Nifty, with falling over 2%. Healthcare companies' shares too were under pressure - Cipla, Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's Labs were down 0.7-1.5%.

MindTree rallied over 11% after a block deal. About 22 lakh shares of MindTree changed hands on NSE at Rs 428/share. Ashok Soota was the seller in a block deal, reports CNBC-TV18.

3M India, Rashtriya Chemical, Godfrey Phillip and Gillette India gained 4-8% while IBN18 Broadcast, Jain Irrigation, SRF, Prestige Estate and Dewan Housing slipped 2-4%.

Nifty volatile ahead of expiry; FMCG, realty gain

The benchmark Sensex jumped over 100 points in the opening trade and took the rally further for the seventh consecutive session. The Nifty too was holding the 5600 level amid a choppy trade ahead of F&O expiry today.

Global cues were quite positive after Greek parliament approved austerity measures to avoid a debt default. Asian markets like Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei went up over 1%.

At 9:18 hours IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 18,805, up 111 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed another 32 points to 5,633.

Among the frontliners, Cairn India, DLF, L&T, Jaiprakash Associates, ICICI Bank, Reliance Communications, Hero Honda, Reliance Power, Reliance Capital, Ambuja Cements, ACC, Reliance Infrastructure, Bajaj Auto, ITC, HUL, M&M and Tata Steel were pushing the markets higher in early trade.

However, ONGC and BPCL as Brent crude inches up further to USD 112 a barrel.

The CNX Midcap too gained 27 points at 7,993. About 639 shares advanced as against 244 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

MindTree shot up 10% on block deal.

KS Oils, Lanco Infratech, Advanta and KRBL gained 1-2%.

Sugar stocks continued their uptrend - Balrampur Chini and Shree Renuka Sugars moved up nearly 3%.

Hanung Toys, Aptech and Vishal Retail were up 5%.

Fertiliser stocks were on buyers' radar today. RCF, NFL and Chambal Fertilisers gained 3-5%.

KRBL rose 2% and Hathway Cable went up 4%.

However, GVK Power and Jain Irrigation were down 0.5%.