Markets extend gains; Hero MotoCorp down 3%

Markets extended gains for the fourth consecutive day tracking gains in banks, capital goods and oil and gas majors. At 1400 hrs, the Sensex was up 187 points at 26,106 and the Nifty advanced 50 points to trade at 7,789.

In the broader markets, the mid and smallcap index gained nearly 1% each and outperformed the benchmark index up 0.6%.

On the macro front, India’s wholesale price (WPI) inflation eased to a five-month low in July, helped by a moderation in fuel costs. The WPI rose 5.19% year-on-year last month, its slowest pace since February. In June, prices rose 5.43% from a year earlier.

Sectors & Stocks

Barring IT index which was down 0.1%, all the other sectoral indices were in green with gains of atleast 0.3%.

Capital Goods, Bankex, Realty, Power, Metal, Consumer Durables and Health Care indices up 1-1.5% were the leading indices.

Hero MotoCorp down 3% along with HDFC, HUL, Wipro, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Auto down 0.5-2% were the only scrips in red among Sensex-30.

Gail India, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, Tata Power, ONGC and Sun Pharma up 1.5-3% were the top gainers of the hour.

In individual names, Abbott India, Wonderla Holidays, Financial Technologies, Marico Kaya, Whirlpool of India, Voltas and Timken India gained after robust Q1 numbers.

The market breadth was positive on BSE. 1,476 stocks advanced while 1,254 stocks declined.

Markets are closed on Friday for Independence Day.