Nifty above 7,750; ITC, ICICI Bank up 1%

Index heavyweights ITC, Reliance Industries were among the top gainers along with financials

Markets rebounded from their one-year closing lows, amid firm global cues, on the back of value buying and short covering at lower levels. However, upside gains are likely to be capped as foreign institutional investors continue to remain net sellers in equities while weak monsoon forecast is likely to weigh on investor sentiment.

At 9:40AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 150 points at 25,603 and the 50-share Nifty was up 55 points at 7,772.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.7-1% each. Market breadth was positive with 1,211 gainers and 346 losers on the BSE.

The Indian rupee was trading 8 paise lower at 66.23 compared to the previous close.

Foreign instiutional investors were net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs 1,573 crore, as per provisional stock exchange data.

MONSOON

India's June-September monsoon rains are likely to be below the prior forecast of 88 percent of the long-term average, the weather office chief said, which could make it the driest year since 2009 and reduce farm output.

GLOBAL MARKETS

With Chinese markets closed over the weekend other stocks in the region continued to trade firm. Japan's benchmark Nikkei was up over 1% while Straits Times gained nearly 0.9%. China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are closed for trade today.

Major US stock indice rebounded on Wednesday after losses in the previous three sessions. The Dow Jones ended up 1.8%, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 gained 1.8% and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite close 2.5% higher.


SECTORS & STOCKS

All sectoral indices were trading in the green led by Realty, Bankex, IT and Capital Goods indices among others.

Financials rebounded on value buying after the sharp correction in the previous sessions. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank and SBI were up 0.7-1% each.

IT exporters firmed up on hopes of order inflows from the US on the back of encouraging economic data. Infosys, TCS and Wipro gained 0.4-1.4% each.

Beaten down index heavyweights also staged a recovery in early trades with ITC and Reliance Industries up 0.7-1.2% each.

However, HUL was the top Sensex loser down 1.5% followed by Lupin, GAIL and Coal India.

Among other shares, VA Tech Wabag has rallied 6% to Rs 724 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade after the company and its consortium partner Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd has bagged a contract worth Rs 1,500 crore from Malaysia's national oil and gas company Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad).