Markets on an upswing, rate sensitives lead

The markets closed the day on a high with the Nifty closing up 88 points at 5,561 and the Sensex ended at 18,506 gaining 274 points.

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(Updated at 1432 hrs)

The markets continue to trade northwards with the Sensex trading up 279 points at 18,511 and the Nifty has added 91 points at 5,562 as the lower GDP growth in March seems to have eased fears of a hawkish policy stance by the Reserve Bank at its policy meet scheduled next month and the positive cues from the global markets front seem to have only bolstered the buoyant sentiment. 

The broader too are on a swing with the miodcap index in line with the Sensex gaining 1.5% each but the smallcap index is underperforming the Sensex, up 0.9%.

All the BSE sectoral indices are in the green, with the rate-sensitive realty and banking leadinmg the gains followed by FMCG. However, the auto index up 0.7% is the laggard for the second consecutive day. The movers in the realty space are Sobha Developers, Orbit Corporation, Indiabulls Real Estate, Godrej Properties and DLF gaining 3% each.

The GDP growth slowed down to 7.8% in March, lower than the anticipated 8.3%. The manufacturing sector grew 5.5% in January-March from a year earlier, while farm output rose by an annual 7.5%, the data showed.

On the global front, the Hang Seng, Nikkei and seoul indices have gained in the region of 2 % each, while the FTSE, CAC and DAX are up in the region of about a percent each.