Markets gain momentum led by index-heavyweights

Markets edged higher in morning session this Monday with 50-share Nifty hovering near crucial resistance level of 6,050 on back of significant buying witnessed in index-heavyweights such as Reliance Industries.

Reliance Industries, the company with second-highest weightage on Sensex, surged over 4% on reports that the company and its partners BP and NIKO have struck a significant gas and condensate discovery in the KG D6 block.

At 11:30AM, the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index Sensex rose 160 points at 19,864 while the National Stock Exchange's 50-share gained 44 point at 6,027.  

Asian shares traded mixed with China’s Shanghai Composite adding 0.2% to 2,292, Singapore’s Straits Times was up 0.03% to 3,393 while Japan’s Nikkei slumped 3% to 14,199 today.

Back home, key sectoral indices such as oil & gas, capital goods, banks, healthcare, IT gained while autos declined on the BSE.

The gainers included counters such as Reliance Industries surged 4%, Bharti Airtel gained 3.2%, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy’s added 2.8% and 1.6% respectively, HDFC rose 1.2% on the BSE.

The laggards were Mahindra & Mahindra falling 2%, Hero MotoCorp down 0.3%,  Bajaj Auto dropped 2.5% while Cipla declined 0.5% on the BSE.

The other key notable movers included, Force Motors has dipped 6.3% to Rs 350, in otherwise firm market, after reporting a net loss of Rs 23 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (Q4) due to negative sale growth and poor operating performance. The car and utility vehicles maker had profit of Rs 17 crore in a year ago quarter.

Jet Airways (India) has dipped 3.4% to Rs 543 after reporting a higher net loss at Rs 496 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (Q4) due to higher fuel prices, weak rupee against US dollar and other exceptional items. The company had a loss of Rs 298 crore in a year ago quarter.

The broader markets gained with mid-caps and small-caps rising nearly 1% on the BSE.

The market breadth was positive. Out of 1,959 stocks traded, 1,095 stocks gained compared to 744 declined on the BSE.