Nifty holds 6,700 mark; BSE IT index up 2%

The main gainers on the Sensex are Wipro, Sesa Sterlite, TCS, Tata Steel, NTPC, ONGC, RIL, M&M and Dr Reddy's Labs

Benchmark indices are trading in a narrow range with the Sensex and the Nifty swinging between negative and positive zone.

Indices have cut losses after hitting fresh intraday low in negative zone in afternoon trade after the Reserve Bank of India kept its main lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 8% after a monetary policy review today.

At 1340 hrs, the Sensex was up 10 points at 22,396 and the Nifty was up 2 points to trade at 6,706.

Adds Devangshu Datta, Technical Analyst and market expert, “Trend should not be disturbed since the RBI left rates and CRR unchanged as expected. Stop loss long Nifty positions at 6675 and stop loss shorts at 6775 (futures prices given).”

On the global front, Asian shares hit a four-month high on Tuesday after dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and China's official PMI survey showing the manufacturing sector managed to continue expanding in March.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose by up to 0.4% to reach its highest level since early December.

The Nikkei failed to match other indexes, falling 0.2% as the Bank of Japan's tankan survey showed Japanese companies cautious on the economic outlook as a three-percentage-point sales tax hike took effect on Tuesday.

Back home, Forex and money markets are closed today for annual account closing.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 942.86 crore on Monday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

On the sectoral front, BSE IT index has spurted by nearly 2% followed by counters like Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Healthcare, all gaining by 1% each. However, BSE Bankex and BSE Capital Goods index have plunged by over 1% each.  

The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Wipro, Sesa Sterlite, TCS, Tata Steel, NTPC, ONGC, RIL, M&M and Dr Reddy’s Labs.

Banking shares are trading weak after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept a key policy rates unchanged. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI have fallen between 1-2%.

Capital goods stocks have declined on profit booking after recent strong gains. BHEL and L&T have fallen by 1% each.

Other notable losers are Hindalco, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC, Bajaj Auto and Hero Moto.

Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) today reported a 5.5% decline in total sales in March at 113,350 units as against 1,19,937 units in the same month last year.

Shares in sugar manufacturer have rallied up to 10% on expectations of higher demand during the summer season from bulk consumers such as ice-cream makers in the spot market.

Andhra Sugars, Balrampur Chini Mills, Bajaj Hindustan, EID Parry, Dhampur Sugar Mills, Upper Ganges Sugar, Sakthi Sugars and Shree Renuka Sugars are up 3-10% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex however, down 0.16%.

Stocks of education services company Educomp Solutions rose 9.9% on the Bombay Stock Exchange in early trades, amidst media reports of the company being in talks with a US firm for acquisition. A newspaper report today had said that a US-based company is in advanced talks with Educomp to acquire majority stake in the company.

The broader markets are trading mixed- BSE Midcap index is down by 0.1% and BSE Small index has gained marginally.

The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 1,324 shares advancing and 1,181 shares declining.