Markets extend gains; Nifty reclaims 7,400

Gains were led by private banks and index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys

Markets extended gains helped by a rebound in bank shares along with index heavyweight Reliance Industries and Infosys leading the gains.

At 10:15am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 172 points at 24,360 and the Nifty50 was up 50 points at 7,401.

In the broader market, BSE Midcap was up 0.4% and Smallcap index was up 0.6%.

Market breadth was positive with 1191 gainers and 837 losers on the BSE.

"For the Nifty resistance is seen at 7377 above 7397, 7422 and 7449 while support is seen at 7327 below 7289, 7263" Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services said in a note.

Among private banks, ICICI Bank was up 2.9% contributing the most to the Sensex gains. Axis Bank was up 4%.

Reliance Industries was up 1.6% ahead of its third quarter earnings later today. Brokerages expect higher gross refining margins to boost earnings.

IT shares were trading mixed, Infosys was up nearly 1% while TCS was down 0.4% post their third quarter earnings.

However, HCL Technologies was down 2%. The IT major  today reported a net profit jump of 11.2% of Rs 1,920 crore for the quarter that ended in December 2015. Its rupee revenue stood at Rs 10,341 crore, up 2.4%.

Mindtree was down 2%. The company posted a 7.2% rise in net profit at Rs 150.9 crore for the December quarter on strong growth across segments, and also announced a recast of its top management.

Among other shares, Rallis India slipped to its 52-week low level at Rs 149, down 5% on the NSE after the company reported 20% year on year (Y-o-Y) decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 20 crore for the third quarter ended December 2015 (Q3FY16), due to lower revenues. The agrochemicals company had profit of Rs 25 crore in year ago quarter.
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(Updated at 9:40am)

Markets continued to trade firm, amid encouraging GDP data from China, helped by a rebound in beaten down bank shares along with index heavyweight Reliance Industries and Infosys leading the gains. However, selling by foreign funds are likely to cap upside gains.

At 9:40am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 95 points at 24,283 and Nifty50 was up 25 points at 7,376.

Foreign institutional investors continued to remain sellers in equities worth Rs 1,204 crore on MOnday, as per provisional stock exchange data

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Bankex was the top sectoral gainer along with Power and Healthcare. BSE Capital Goods, Oil & Gas were the top losers.

Reliance Industries was up 1.6% ahead of its third quarter earnings later today. Brokerages expect higher gross refining margins to boost earnings.

IT shares were trading mixed, Infosys was up nearly 1% while TCS was down 0.4% post their third quarter earnings.

Wipro eased 1.21% post its results. The Street bearishness is due to the fact that Wipro has missed sector growth rates for many quarters now. Additionally, its margins remain lower compared to peers Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services.

Tata Motors rebounded after losses in the previous session and was up 1.4%.

Beaten down bank stocks also firmed up on short covering with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI up 1.3%-1.5% each.

Other gainers include, Adani Ports, Lupin, HDFC and Sun Pharma among others.

Capital goods continue to remain under pressure amid weak industrial output. BHEL and L&T were down 0.5% each.

Among other shares, after the company reported net profit of Rs 8.89 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015 (Q3FY16) against loss of Rs 4.09 crore in year ago quarter.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian equities continue to trade lower amid persistent worries concerning oil slump. Meanwhile, the Chinese GDP numbers came in-line with expectations and thus China’s benchmark index Shanghai Composite has recouped losses and is trading 0.1% higher. On the flip side, Japan’s Nikkei, Hong Kong’s Hnag Seng have lost between 0.1%-0.8%.

China's economy grew 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the data showed, the slowest growth since 2009. Industrial output in December rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier, compared with forecasts for a 6.0 percent increase.

Meanwhile, US markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.