Markets rebound; Bankex leads

Markets have recouped from the morning lows and are trading in the green on back of buying in banking, oil & gas and PSU stocks. The Sensex was higher by 45 points at 18,247 and the S&P CNX Nifty was at 5474 up 18 points.

ICICI Bank led the gainers chart on the Sensex, the stock was trading at Rs 1055 higher by 2.3%. Tata Power was higher by 2.2% to Rs 1269 after the company reported three fold increase in the Q3 net profit. State Bank of India, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Communication, HDFC and index heavyweight Reliance Industries were also trading higher by 1-2% each. On the other hand BHEL, Mahindra & Mahindra, Jaiprakash Associates, TCS, Larsen & Toubro and Hindalco were among losers.

Banking stocks witnessed heavy buying, the BSE banking index- Bankex was higher by 1.92% or 234 points at 12,477 followed by PSU index, up 0.80% or 67 points at 8611 and the Oil & Gas index added 0.7% or 67 points at 9391. Consumer durable, power and auto stocks also witnessed some buying. While Capital Goods stocks fell prey to the profit booking, the index was the top loser down 130 points at 13,171 followed by Healthcare index, down 30 points to 6001. IT, FMCG, teck, metal and realty stocks also reeled under a mild selling pressure.

Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indusind Bank, Federal Bank, Bank of Baroda, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were gainers among the banking stocks. Among the PSU stocks HMT was the top gainer followed by Hindustan Corp, bank of India, Canara Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.

The broader markets also slipped back into the green, the BSE mid-cap index was higher by 10 points at 6713 and the small-cap index added 39 points at 8155.

The overall market breadth turned marginally positive as 1312 stocks advanced while 1255 stocks advanced.