Benchmark indices gain as mid-caps outperform

Markets gained after a flat start on back of short-covering witnessed in PSU and capital goods stocks after data showed that the overseas investors bought Indian shares for the first time in 13 trading sessions this Friday.

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 11.24 billion on Friday, snapping a 13-day selling streak, NSE data showed.

Investor sentiments were, however,  weighed down by concerns over growth slowdown in China, world’s second-biggest economy after an official gauge of manufacturing activity expanded at the slowest pace in four months.

At 10:10AM, the 30-share Sensex rose 46 points at 19,441 and the 50-share Nifty gained 14 points at 5,856 levels.

China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 50.1 from May’s 50.8, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing.

Global risk appetite faltered amid looming fears that the US Federal Reserve may start tapering its stimulus by September as US economy showed signs of recovery.

Asian stocks traded lower with Nikkei falling 0.5% to 13,611, Singapore Straits Times declined 0.4% to 3,136 while China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.4% at 1,971. Hong Kong markets are shut today.

Back home, the key sectoral gainers were capital goods, realty, PSU, power while consumer durables and IT indices dropped on the BSE.

The gainers included counters such as Tata Power rising 2%, ONGC and GAIL gained 1% each, BHEL added 2%, Tata Steel was up 0.7% on the BSE.

The laggards were Infosys and TCS falling 1% respectively, Bajaj Auto declined 0.9%, Hindalco Industries declined 0.8%, ICICI Bank fell 0.5%, ITC and HUL shed 0.4% and 0.2% respectively on the BSE.

The key notable movers included counters such as L&T Finance Holdings  which trading higher by 3.3% at Rs 81.05 after its board approved the company's proposal to apply to the Reserve Bank of India (RBl) for a banking licence.

Tata Power Company is trading higher by 3% at Rs 88.20, extending its nearly 6% rally on Friday after the state electricity regulatory commission approved a 25% increase in tariff for the year current financial year 2013-14 (FY14).

The broader markets traded higher with mid-caps and small-caps rising nearly 1 per cent on the BSE.

The market breadth was positive. Out of 1,313 stocks traded so far, 895 stocks advanced while 363 declined on the BSE.