Markets glued to gains

Markets continue to trade on a strong note in the noon deals on the back of sustained buying visible across the sectors. The BSE benchmark index- Sensex has advanced 240 points to 18,394 and the 50 share Nifty is up 73 points at 5,595 levels.

According to AK Prabhakar, Senior Vice President (Equity Research), Anand Rathi, "The Nifty has broken out of the range and we feel that it is mainly a liquidity driven rally. These kinds of rallies also give very fast corrections. As it is difficult to time them, we are advising investors to invest in growth stocks that will perform well from a two-year time horizon."

In Asia, shares rebounded today on signs euro zone officials will soon approve a long-awaited bailout for Greece, reducing the risk of a debt default, and after jobs and manufacturing data pointed to a healthier US economy. Japan's Nikkei rallied 1.6% to 9,384 levels, Hang Seng advanced 120 points to 21,398. Taiwan and Shanghai were also trading higher.

Back home, BHEL is the top Sensex gainer the stock has advanced 7.4% to Rs 306 on the back of huge trading volumes. As many as 38 lakh shares have changed hands on the BSE compared to its two-week average of 7.95 lakh shares.

Sterlite Industries, Tata Power, State Bank of India, NTPC, DLF, Mahindra & Mahindra, Coal India, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Jindal Steel, Wipro, TCS, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries have also advanced 1-6% each.

However, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Gail India, Tata Motors, Cipla and HDFC Bank are among the notable losers.

Power stocks extended their rally for the third day in a row after the Prime Minister has approved suggestions made by the Secretary level Committee for solving the issue of coal deficit faced by power sector. The BSE Power index has advanced 4% to 2,386 levels. Lanco infra is the top gainer among the power stocks, it is followed by JSW Energy, Reliance Power, GVK Power, Adani Power, Thermax and ABB.

Consumer Durable index is also up 4% to 6,632 levels. Capital Goods, Metal, IT, Realty, Bankex and Oil & Gas indices are also trading higher by 0.8-3% each.

At the same time the Auto index is the only loser on the sectoral front.

Among the individual shares, Man Industries (India) is trading higher by 4% at Rs 114 on getting orders worth of Rs 500 crore from Middle East for supply of large dia meter pipes for oil and gas sector.

The broader markets are also trading higher. The mid-cap and small-cap indices have advanced 1% each.

The overall breadth is positive as 1,687 stocks are advancing while 1,100 are declining.