Markets trim gains on profit taking in bank shares

Markets have trimmed some of the early gains due to profit taking in financial and FMCG stocks. At 1120 hrs, the Sensex was up 79 points at 17,156 and the Nifty gained 19 points at 5,177 levels. The Sensex touched an intra-day high of 17,259 and the Nifty touched 5,217 so far.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed. Nikkei, Strait Times and Hang Seng are trading marginally lower whereas Kospi and Shanghai Composite are trading flat.

Back home, on the sectoral front, Metal, Consumer Durable, Oil & Gas and Technology are leading the rally, all gaining by nearly 2% each.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) has gained nearly 2% after the company announced that the share buyback programme will begin from February 1, 2012. The stock plunged last week on reporting disappointing numbers in the quarter ended December 2011.

IT stocks like Infosys and TCS have gained by nearly 2% each. Technology stocks rose after the Fed indicated that it would keep rates in the US at ultra-low levels until late 2014 to support US economic recovery. US is the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. 

Metal stocks like Sterlite, Tata Steel, Hiundalco and Coal India have surged between 1-4% after LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME), rose 2.4% to close at $3,777 on January 26. The Metal index has rallied almost 5% so far in a week on reports that the U.S. Federal Reserve was ready to offer additional stimulus, a move that could lift economic growth and demand for industrial metals.

Among Consumer Durable segment, Bajaj Electronics, Blue Star, Gitanjali Gems, Rajesh Exports, Titan Inds, TTK Prestige and VIP Inds have gained between 1-4%. 

On the flip side, banking stocks like SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have fallen between 0.4-1%.

FMCG stocks like ITC and HUL have declined between 2-1%.

The broader markets are out performing the benchmark indices, gaining by over 1%.

The overall market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,689 shares advancing and 684 shares declining.