Nifty reclaims 7,500; rate-sensitive shares lead

At 2:30pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 32points at 24,695 and the Nifty50 was up 16 points at 7,500

Markets have recovered the lost ground and are trading in a positive zone led by buying in rate sensitive shares.

At 2:30pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 32points at 24,695 and the Nifty50 was up 16 points at 7,500.

Read more from our special coverage on "NIFTY"

• Nifty ends below 7,000 as global cues override Budget benefits
• Markets trim gains; Economic Survey in focus
• Nifty hits fresh 21-month low ahead of Budget
• Nifty slips 91 points ahead of February F&O expiry, Rail Budget
• Cairn India, PNB, Vedanta shares down on exclusion from Nifty

The top gainers on the Sensex are Maruti Suzuki, L&T, ONGC, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, up between 1% and 2% each.

The top losers on the Sensex are Cipla, Wipro, Dr. Reddy’s, ITC, HDFC, down between 1%-2% each.

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(updated 1:15pm)

Markets continued to trade lower amid profit taking in metal shares after global commodity  prices came off their recent high while weakness in select index heavyweights capped upside gains.

At 1:15pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 66 points at 24,592 and the Nifty50 slipped 11 points at 7,474. The broader markets were mixed with BSE Midcap up 0.3% and Smallcap index down 0.4%. Market breadth was weak with 1277 losers and 1069 gainers on the BSE.

Foreign portfolio investors remained net buyers in equities worth Rs 775 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Metal index was the top loser down 1.8% followed by FMCG and Healthcare indices among others. Rate sensitive sectors were the top gainers led by Realty followed by Auto and Bankex.

Metal shares witnessed profit taking after global commodity prices eased. In the commodity space, metals dropped on Tuesday with Iron-ore futures on the Singapore Exchange fell 5.2%, after a record 19% jump on Monday while copper fell 0.8% in London, trimming this month's advance to 5.7%.

Vedanta, Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tata Steel and Hindustan Zinc were down 1.5%-4% on the BSE.

Global crude oil prices came off their highs after data indicated rise in US inventory levels. Oil prices dropped 3% on Tuesday after benchmark Brent crude hit $40 a barrel. However, oil shares were mixed with Cairn India down 2.8% while ONGC was up 1.1%.

Tata Motors came off its day's lows and was trading flat. The auto major on Tuesday said that it has reached out to the striking workers and advised them to resume duty on or before March 11, failing which, the company would take appropriate legal actions.

In the Sensex pack, ITC, HDFC and Sun Pharma were down 2% each contributing the most to the Sensex losses.