Markets trading firm

After a strong opening the markets continued the upmove on back of strong global cues and some fresh buying visible in the technology space. Today, the markets are up for the fourth straight trading day, with the Sensex up 1% or 188 points at 18,538 and the Nifty having advanced 52 points to 5575.

The other Asian markets were also trading higher, the Nikkei jumped 85 points to 9520, Taiwan added 56 points to 8632, Hang Seng gained 212 points and was at 23,127 and the Shanghai was higher by 1% or 31 points at 2978.

Back to the Indian markets, frontline IT stocks led the rally on the Sensex, Infosys was the top gainer, the stock has gained 2.6% in trades and was at Rs 3083, Wipro added 2% to Rs 448, TCS was higher by 1.7% to Rs 1111. Larsen & Toubro, DLF, NTPC, Tata Motors, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and BHEL were also trading higher by around 1% each. Meanwhile Reliance Infrastructure, Cipla, Reliance Communication, Jindal Steel and Tata Power were among the losers.

All the sectoral indices were trading higher, the BSE IT index zoomed 2.3% or 140 points to 6239, BSE Teck index was higher by nearly 2% or 67 points at 3671 and the Capital Goods index gained 1.3% or 162 points to 12,897. Consumer Durables, FMCG, Auto, Bankex, Power, Healthcare, Realty and PSU indices were also higher by 0.5-1% each.

Financial Technologies was the top gainer on the IT charts, the stock surged 6.5% to Rs 819 on reports that the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), India's top commodity trading platform, is planning to list on the bourses by September this year.

HCL Technologies, Infosys, Wipro, Oracle Financial Services Software, TCS, Core Projects, Mphasis, Tech Mahindra and Patni Computers were also among the gainers on the IT charts.

Usha Martin was the top gainer among the capital goods stocks, the stock zoomed 6% to Rs 60. It was followed by BEML, Larsen & Toubro, Praj Industries, Lakshmi Machine Works, Suzlon Energy, Thermax and BHEL.

The broader markets were also trading on a strong note, the BSE small-cap index added 50 points or 0.76% to 6706 and the Smal-cap index was at 7989 higher by 68 points.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1512 stocks advanced while 754 stocks declined.