Markets maintain strength; Nifty hovers at 8,400

Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and Lupin are the major gainers on the BSE.

The markets have held on to their gains in mid-morning trades on the back of strength in index heavyweight Hindustan Unilever and aided by a rally on the pharma counters.

By 11:30am, the Sensex was at 27,896, higher by 91 points or 0.3% and the Nifty was above the 8,400 mark at 8,405, up 24 points or 0.2%.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were flat at 10,661 and 11,159 respectively.

One would have to see if the markets sustain their gains as the impending June derivatives series expiry on Thursday could lead to volatility on the bourses. The indices have been in an uptrend for the ninth consecutive session and this could also trigger profit-booking on the part of market participants.

On the currency front, the rupee opened at 63.64 levels, 6 paise down against its previous close of 63.58.

SECTORS & STOCKS

All the sectoral indices are in the green, with the exception of the banking space.

Hindustan Unilever has spurted by 2.6% at Rs 897 to lead the gainer's charts on the BSE.

Pharma companies are also in focus this morning; Sun Pharma and Lupin have added about 2% each. In the broader pharma space, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (up 11% at Rs 252), Alembic Pharmaceuticals (5.5% at Rs 688), Aurobindo Pharma (3% at Rs 1,436), Ipca Laboratories (3% at Rs 698) and Dishman Pharmaceuticals (3% at Rs 158) are among the major gainers in the pharma space.

The IT space has seen Infosys, NIIT, Wipro and Aptech adding about 1% each.

On the flip side, banking shares are sluggish in mid-morning trades. PNB, SBI and Bank of Baroda have slipped 0.5%-1.5% each. The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had told a private news channel on Monday that the government would infuse Rs 19,000 crore in public sector banks in this financial year.

Metal counters are also continuing their recent weaknes, with Hindalco and Tata Steel shedding around 1% each.

The market breadth is positive, with 1249 shares advancing and 925 shares declining on the BSE.