Markets extend gains

The markets have build on their gains. The bourses had opened on a robust note, thanks to the Fed's decision to inject fresh stimulus into the struggling US economy and an outstanding debut by Coal India, and have only got better in the past one hour. The Sensex is quoting at 20706, higher by 240 points or 1.2% and the Nifty is at 6224, up 64 points. There is underperformance on the broader market front though; the midcap index is at 8581, higher by 49 points and the smallcap index is at 10845, up 37 points.

Wall Street ended a volatile session modestly higher overnight after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to buy $600 billion in treasuries to breathe new life into the struggling economy. The Dow was up 26 points at 11,215 and Nasdaq was up six points at 2,540. And Asian stock markets rose this morning as investors took heart from the Fed's plans; the key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan rose between 0.35% and 2.24% in early trades.

M&M has soared by 3% at Rs 782 to emerge as the leading gainer on the BSE. L&T has appreciated by 1.7% at Rs 2184 and RIL has added 1.6% at Rs 1083. Metal stocks are also having a field day, with Sterlite jumping 1.6% at Rs 179, Hindalco adding 1.5% at Rs 221 and Tata Steel adding 1.1% at Rs 616. Realty is also in the limelight;  Indiabulls Real Estate is at Rs 196, stronger by 3.5%, Sobha Developers is at Rs 371, higher by 2.8%, DLF is at Rs 353, up 1.2% and HDIL   is at Rs 257, up 0.7%.

And Coal India is trading at the day's high of Rs 323 on the BSE, which is a premium of around 30% over the issue price of Rs 245. The stock had debuted at a premium of 17.45% at Rs 287.75.  The counter has clocked massive volumes, with 1.91 crore shares changing hands on the BSE in a few minutes of trade. CIL, a Navratna public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Coal, Government of India, is the largest raw coal producing company and coal reserve holder in the world.

According to Jagannadham Thunuguntla, Strategist and Head of Research, SMC Global Securities, Coal India will give a psychological boost to the over-all sentiment and the quantative easing by the Fed will lift the market mood initially, but the US will face concerns of high deficit in the long-run.

The stocks to buck the strong trend include Hero Honda (weakened by 1.2% at Rs 1842),  ACC (shed 0.8% at Rs 1074) and Tata Motors (lost 0.3% at Rs 1181).

The market breadth is strong. Out of 2126 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1296 advancing stocks as against 759 declines.