Markets rebound on European cues

The markets changed lanes from the negative to the positive, on back of strong European openings in the noon deals. The BSE Sensex is at 17,159, up 29 points and the S&P CNX Nifty is at 5,173, up 12 points. Earlier in the day, the BSE benchmark index touched a low of 17,013.

The broader markets are mostly flat with the BSE mid-cap index unchanged at 6,554 and the small-cap index down 0.2% at 7,685.

The Asian markets traded on a mixed note with the Hang Seng at 19,654, down 0.7%, the Nikkei at 8,982, down 0.6% while the Shanghai Composite is in the positive at 2,579, up 1.2%. In the European markets, DAX, cAC 4 and FTSE100 are up 2-3%.

HDFC soared 2.5% at Rs 683, on the Sensex. NTPC, Hindalco Industries, Reliance Industries and Sun Pharma closely follow, up 1-2% each. The top loser among the Sensex 30 stocks include, Tata Power, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and DLF, down 1-4% each.

Among individual stocks,shares of Tata Power has slipped 4% on the bourses, despite the company reporting a 5% rise in profit for the first three months of the current fiscal.

Tata Communications (formerly VSNL) has rallied over 7% at Rs 215 on reports that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to sell the 773-acre surplus VSNL land, held by the company, by hiving it off into a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

Among the sectoral indices, BSE Realty and Auto are the major laggards, down 5% each, at 1,841 and 8,597, respectively. Among the Auto stocks, Apollo Tyres, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto are the top losers, down 1-4% each.

The market breadth is barely positive as 1,283 stocks advance and 1,254 stocks decline on the BSE.