Markets remain rangebound; Sesa Sterlite up 3%

Markets remained rangebound as profit taking at higher levels capped further gains

Benchmark shares indices came off their record highs in late morning trades and remained rangebound as profit taking at higher levels capped further gains.

At 11:35AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 27 points at 26,418 after hitting a record high of 26,531 and the 50-share Nifty was trading 15 points higher at 7,890 after touching a fresh high of 7,919.

The Indian rupee firmed up against the US dollar on the back of dollar inflows after domestic stock markets surged to record highs. Forex markets were closed for trading on Friday and Monday for holidays. The Indian rupee is currently trading at Rs 60.73 compared to Thursday's close of Rs 60.76.

Asian markets firmed up on Tuesday tracking overnight gains in the US and easing of geopolitical tensions in Ukraine. Japanese shares edged higher with the benchmark Nikkei up 0.9%. Singapore's Straits Times and Hong Kong's Hang Seng trimmed early gains and were trading with marginal gains. However, Chinese shares continued to trade with marginal losses with the benchmark Shanghai Composite down 0.3%.

The BSE Metal and Auto indices were the top sectoral gainers up over 1% each followed by Capital Goods, Bankex, Power and Realty indices.

Tata Motors continued to witness buying interest post its first quarter earnings. Shares of the auto major were up 1.5%.

 
Sesa Sterlite was up nearly 3% after the Goa government decided to follow the order of the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court to renew mining leases.Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, in the State Assembly on Monday, said that atleast 27 mining leases on which stamp duty has been paid would be renewed by October 15.

Capital goods shares also witnessed buying at lower levels. L&T was up 0.8% and BHEL gained 1.2%.

Other Sensex gainers include, ICICI Bank, M&M, Axis Bank and SBI.

HDFC Group shares were among the top Sensex losers with HDFC down 1.4% and HDFC Bank eased 0.4%. Other Sensex losers include, TCS, Sun Pharma and ITC.

Among other shares, Britannia Industries was up 2.7% to Rs 1,300, extending its one-month long rally on the bourses. The stock of the country’s leading food company is currently trading at its record high on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Since July 18, the stock has rallied 31% from Rs 997 compared to 3% rise in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. Last month, the company had sold factory land located at Padi, Chennai for Rs 172 crore.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.8% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,397 gainers and 1,062 losers on the BSE.