The market continued to trade higher since the morning, led by power, metals, banks, auto and realty sectors. Reliance Industries and L&T too were playing supportive role. The Nifty sustained above the 5000 level quite nicely, which went up 46.75 points to 5,002.55. Meanwhile, the Sensex gained 143 points at 16,594.30.
Ayaz Ebrahim, CIO Asian equities ex-Japan of Amundi is getting more constructive on India now. He says, valuations in Asian markets are compelling. "If we are looking at a multi-year view, over the next two-three years, Asia still remains very positive. Valuations are definitely very much on the cheaper side," adds.
Index heavyweight and country's second largest lender ICICI Bank was the leading gainer, rising 3%. Reliance, L&T, HDFC, SBI and ICICI Bank moved up 1-1.6%.
Power stocks too retained their gains; NTPC and Tata Power shot up 3-4%; Reliance Infrastructure gained 7%.
Among metals stocks, Tata Steel, Sterlite, Hindalco and Coal India were up 2.5-4.5%.
In the auto space, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp and Maruti Suzuki climbed 2.5%; In the realty space, DLF rallied 4%.
However, Bharti, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, Cipla and Wipro were down 0.5-1%. Shares of BHEL extended losses, falling 2.55%.
At 11:55 hours IST : Nifty holds 5000; NTPC, Rel Infra, Tata Power top buy list
Consistent upmove in index heavyweights Reliance, ICICI Bank, L&T and SBI supported the Nifty to stay above the 5000 mark. However, the fall in BHEL, Bharti Airtel and technology stocks limited the upside to some extent. The Sensex was up 162.16 points at 16,613.63 and the Nifty rose 52 points to 5,007.80.
Andrew Holland, chief executive officer of equities at Ambit Capital tells CNBC-TV18 that the markets are primarily being driven by liquidity at the moment. He, however, expects the rally in equities to fizzle out soon. "If the liquidity dries up, markets will correct meaningfully," he says.
Among frontliners, Reliance Infrastructure topped the buying list, rising nearly 7%. Tata Power, DLF, NTPC, Hindalco, Sterlite Industries, Jaiprakash Associates and ACC were other biggest gainers, moving up 3-4%.
Power stocks were showing smart performance after major companies' CEOs met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday. PM formed committee of secretaries on power sector. Pulok Chatterji will head committee of secretaries. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and L&T climbed 1.4% each. Shares of country's largest lenders ICICI Bank and SBI were up 2.8% and 1.7%, respectively; HDFC Bank went up 1.5%.
Shares of India's biggest two-wheeler makers Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto rallied 2.5% & 1%, respectively, ahead of their third quarter results. Hero Motocorp is likely to report 47% growth in third quarter profit after tax of Rs 631 crore and Bajaj Auto may grow by 23% to Rs 819 crore year-on-year.
However, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, HUL, Wipro and TCS remained under pressure, falling 0.3-0.9%. BHEL lost over 2%.
The market breadth too was strong; about two shares gained for every share falling on the BSE.
In the second line shares, Infotech Enterprises, Ashok Leyland, BEML, United Bank and Biocon shot up 5-7%. Smallcap stocks like GTL jumped 14% and Tree House rallied 12%. Den Networks, Jamna Auto and Wendt were up 6-10%.