Broader markets outperform benchmarks; BSE mid-cap up 0.8%

BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are trading 0.8% higher as compared to Sensex's 0.2% uptick

Benchmark indices are trading marginally higher led by power, capital goods and banking stocks. At 1430 hrs, the 30-share Sensex was up 60 points at  22,763 levels and the 50-unit Nifty gained almost 16 points at 6,811.

Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks with BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices trading 0.8% higher as compared to Sensex's 0.2% uptick.

On trading strategies, Shshank Mehta, Independent Derivatives Strategist said "Nifty Futures are trading 6770. Traders with a bearish view are advised not to short Nifty at current or higher levels. I observe Nifty Futures adding 10% to its Open interest in the previous two trading sessions with a bullish bias,”

Tata Motors stocks gained as much as 2.8 percent at Rs 432.80 after touching a record high of 435 rupees after Citigroup raised its price target on the stock to 486 rupees from 421 rupees, citing the outlook for the automaker's luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)

Piramal Enterprises has moved higher by 6% to Rs 568 after the company agreed to divest its entire stake in Vodafone India for a total consideration of Rs 8,900 crore.

On the global front, Asian shares look to extend recent solid gains on Thursday after minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting suggested the Fed may be more cautious towards raising interest rates than markets had thought.

Chinese exports and imports both undershot market expectations, but analysts said the data was likely to be distorted due to over-invoicing last year to skirt tight capital controls and markets showed muted reaction to the data.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit a five-month high and last stood 0.1 percent higher, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.7 percent from a two-week low hit the previous day.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1043.86 crore on Wednesday, 9 April 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The rupee fell to 60.12 from its Wednesday close of 60.14/15, as state-run banks were spotted buying dollars, which traders say is likely for defence and oil-related payments.

On the sectoral front, BSE Power and Realty indices have surged by over 2% followed by counters like Banks, Capital Goods and Auto, all gaining by nearly 1% each.  However, BSE Healthcare index has slumped by nearly 1%.

The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Tata Motors, Larsen & toubro, SBI and Reliance.  

Shares in State Bank of India (SBI) has moved higher by 2.5% to Rs 2,034, extending its 5% rally in past three trading sessions,  after the public sector bank said that overseas investors have purchased an additional nearly 5 million shares of the bank through open market in March quarter.  

Shares of Adani Group companies such as Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Adani Power are on a roll, trading higher by up to 9% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Among individual stocks, Adani Enterprises has surged 9% to Rs 416, while Adani Ports and SEZ has zoomed by 8% to Rs 198 and Adani Power has added 5% to Rs 58.50 on the BSE.

Most of these stocks are trading at their multi-year highs and outperformed the market after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared Narendra Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate.

On the losing side, M & M, Dr Reddys Labs, Sun Pharma, Hero Motocorp and Cipla have declined between 1-2%.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained between 0.8-1.5%.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1559 shares advancing and 1,158 shares declining