Nifty reclaims 8,400; HUL up 1.5%, HDFC dips over 1%

Indices may remain volatile ahead of the expiry of June series derivatives contract on Thursday.

Markets have extended gains with the defensives sectors like FMCG, pharma and software shares leading the gains.

By 9:52AM, the Sensex has gained 82 points at 27,887 and the Nifty has added 23 points at 8,404.


********************************

Updated at 9:35

Markets have turned flat after making a higher opening tracking positive trend across the global peers.

By 9:35am, the Sensex has gained 23 points at 27,828 and the Nifty has added 9 points at 8,390.

The broader markets are, however, outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.3-0.5%. The market breadth is positive, with 658 shares advancing and 305 shares declining on the BSE.

The benchmark indices may remain volatile throughout the session ahead of the expiry of the derivatives contract for the June Series tomorrow.

But investors are optimistic about a possible solution between Greece and its international creditors to avert a debt crisis after Athens presented a new set of proposals on Monday.

Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday halved the time required between listing and closing of an initial public offering (IPO) to six days. The stock market regulator also eased the framework for start-ups to raise capital from the stock market.

On the currency front, the rupee opened at 63.64 levels, 6 paise down against its previous close of 63.58.

The foreign portfolio investors (FPI) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 375 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asia shares rallied for a sixth straight session on Wednesday as investors chose to be optimistic on the chances of a Greek debt deal. Japan's Nikkei led the way as a gain of 0.4%, while MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1% to bring its gins over the past six sessions to 2.9%.

Overnight, the Dow ended Tuesday up 0.13%, while the S&P 500 added 0.06% and the NASDAQ 0.12%. Risk appetite were whetted after Greece's government expressed confidence that parliament would approve a debt deal with lenders, despite an angry reaction from some of its own lawmakers.

EU finance ministers meet on Wednesday to discuss whether or not to put the plan to Eurozone state heads. If it goes ahead, the Greek parliament could vote as early as this weekend.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, all major sectors are trading in the positive zone with marginal gains while the BSE Bankex is trading absolutely flat.

Hindustan Unilever is in advanced discussions with Mosons Extractions Pvt. Ltd to buy the Indulekha brand of hair care products, including an ayurvedic hair grooming oil and shampoo, for around Rs.500 crore, media reports suggest. The stock has gained 1.1%.

The Board of Directors of Lupin has given an in-principle approval for raising funds of up to Rs. 7,500 crore. The stock is up 1.13% and is currently the highest gainer on the Sensex.

Other notable gainers on the Sensex are Coal India, ONGC, Infosys, Sun Pharma, all rallying between 0.5- 1.1% each.

On the flip side, HDFC has slipped 1.3% and is the biggest loser on the Sensex. Other notables losers are Bharti Airtel, L&T, Maruti, all shedding nearly 0.5% each on the Sensex. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a private news channel on Monday that the government would infuse Rs 19,000 crore in public sector banks in this financial year. PNB, SBI, Bank of Baroda have slipped by almost 1% each.

With Reuters input