Markets gain strength, Sensex up 75pts

Changing lanes from the red to the green, the markets have gained strength and are trading on a fairly firm note. The BSE Sensex is at 17,140, up 75 points and the S&P CNX Nifty is at 5,150, up 25 points.

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Updated at 1400 hours

On the macro economic front the government released the inflation data for the week ended August 27. Food inflation eased to 9.55% versus 10.05% during the previous week. Primary articles inflation came in at 13.34% compared to 12.93% while the fuel group inflation was unchanged at 12.55%.

Meanwhile, the European markets have opened on a flat note. FTSE was at 5,324, up 5 points, CAC 40 index added 13 points to 3,086 and the DAX was up 9 points at 5,415.

Back home, Jindal Steel is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 2% to Rs 550. J P Associates was down nearly 2% at Rs 70. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries shed 1.4% to Rs 820 after the government tabled the CAG's report on Reliance Industries in the Lok Sabha. The report  stated that the company violated production sharing pact on the KG-D6 basin.

Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Tata Power, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC and ITC were also among the laggards on the benchmark index. On the other hand, Wipro, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, TCS, Larsen & Toubro and Cipla are among the gainers.

On the sectoral front, BSE Oil & Gas index was the top loser, down 0.6% or 57 points to 8,640. Metal, FMCG, PSU, and Bankex indices also languished under a mild selling pressure. At the same time renewed buying interest is visible in the technology stocks. The BSE IT index has advanced nearly 2% or 93 points to 5,083. Capital Goods, Healthcare, Consumer Durables and Realty indices were also trading in the positive territory.

HPCL, ONGC, GAIL India, Reliance Industries and BPCL were the top losers among the oil & gas space. Among the metal stocks SAIL was the top loser, down nearly 3% to Rs 118. It was followed by JSW Steel, Jindal Steel, Bhushan Steel, Sesa Goa, Tata Steel, Coal India and Hindalco.

Wipro led the gainers chart among the IT stocks, up 3.5% to Rs 341. Patni Computer, Infosys, HCL technologies, Oracle Financial Services Software, TCS, Financial Technologies and MphasiS also added 1-3% each.

The broader markets were trading on a flat note. The BSE mid-cap index gained 16 points to 6,489 and the small-cap index added 41 points to 7,348.

Overall breadth was positive as 1,550 stocks advanced while 1,018 stocks declined.