Markets consolidate gains, Sensex up 181 pts

The markets contiuned to trade firm, and were seen consolidating gains in the late morning session. The Sensex was up 181 points up at 18,323, while the Nifty added 55 points at 5,483.

Larsen & Toubro was the top gainer on the Sensex up 4% at Rs 1,656, followed by ONGC at Rs 283 and Bharti Airtel at Rs 373, both up 2%. CIpla, DLF, NTPC and Mahindra & Mahindra added 2% each.

IT major Infosys was the only component trading in the red down 0.2% at Rs 2,841.

The broader markets moved in tandem with the Sensex, with the Mid-cap index at 6,770 and the Small-cap index at 8,217, both up nearly 1%.

The Capital Goods index added almost 3% at 13,251, with L&T adding stregth to the counter. Realty stocks also picked up on account of the momentum in the Sensex, and the index was trading up more than 1% at 2,087. The Power index followed at 2,571 up 1%.

Of the 2,496 stocks traded on the BSE so far, 1,555 advanced, while 830 declined, making the market breadth very positive.