Firm trades continue, Sensex up 288pts

The markets traded firm in late-noon trades with the BSE Sensex at 16,771, up 288 points and the Nifty at 5,026, up 89 points.

The European markets are trading strong with CAC, DAX and FTSE 100 spurting between 1-2% each.

All the sectoral indices are in the green. BSE Bankex, Metal, IT and Auto indices, up 2-3% each, are leading the gains.

IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, up 3-4% each, are the prominent gainers from the Bankex space.

Sterlite Industires, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel and NMDC, up 3-4% each, are the gainers from the Metals space.

Among the Sensex 30 stocks, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco Industries, JP Associates, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank, up 3-4% each, are the prominent gainers.
Hero MotoCorp, down marginally at Rs 2,083, is the only loser from the pack.

Among individual stocks, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has rallied 14% to Rs 690 on reports that the company is planning to invest about Rs 30 crore to increase the number of sugar clinics to 100 in 90 days.

Balaji Telefilms has zoomed 5% to Rs 36.85 on the back of huge volumes and reports that the company's latest release 'The Dirty Picture' saw a strong opening at the box office.

Ambuja Cements is trading higher by 7% to Rs 159.40 in an otherwise subdued market after the company reported a 29% year-on-year increase in cement dispatches to 1.83 million in November.

Meanwhile, Midcaps and Smallcaps have extended the gains with BSE Midcap index has ascending by 1.1% whereas BSE Smallcap index has rising by 0.8%.

The overall market breadth is positive as 1,643 stocks have advenced against 1,006 declining ones, on the BSE.