Nifty hovers around 6,000 level

Broader markets gain; Oil & Gas, IT indices among the top sectoral gainers

Markets continue to gain in the morning deals with the Sensex up 113 points at 19,787 but the Nifty continued to hover around the 6,000 levels.
 
In the broader markets, the mid and smallcap indices gained 0.6% each, in line with the BSE benchmark index.
 
Among the sectoral indices, Realty, Capital Goods, Health Care, Bankex and FMCG indices gained 1% each. Meanwhile, Consumer Durables turned flat with a negative bias.
 

Among individual stocks, Emami is trading higher by 3.3% at Rs 687 after its board proposed to issue bonus shares in the ratio of 1 equity share for every 2 equity shares held by shareholder.

 
Shares of Godrej Properties were up nearly 2% ahead of its board meet to consider rights issue.
___________________
(Updated at 0950 hrs)
Markets started the day in the green as heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, L&T and ITC gained. At 0948 hrs, the Sensex was up 128 points at 19,802 and the Nifty added 38 points to cross the 6,000 level to trade around 6,009.

In the broader markets, the midcap index started in line with the BSE benchmark index, gaining 0.4% each while the smallcap index underperformed with a 0.3% gain.

Meanwhile, Asian shares were capped by caution over weak global growth data, but Japanese equities scaled a near five-year peak after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed at a record high.

Japan's Nikkei stock average soared 2.9% to rise above 14,000 for the first time since June 2008, helped by signs of resilience in the United States, Japan's top export market. South Korean shares gave up thin early gains to trade down 0.3%, with caution ahead of Thursday's policy decision by the Bank of Korea.

Overnight, in the US markets, the S&P 500 closed at another record high, pushing further above 1,600 as financial shares. Apple's advance helped lift both the S&P and the Nasdaq.

The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 0.03%, to 14,969 at the close. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up 0.19%, to finish at a record 1,617. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.42%, to close at 3,393.

Back home, among the sectoral indices, Oil & Gas, Power, IT, Realty, Health Care and Auto indices were the major gainers, up 0.5-0.9%. Consumer Durables and IT indices were flat with a positive bias.

The top gainers among the Sensex stocks were ICICI Bank, NTPC, Hindalco, Sun Pharma, BHEL,T ata Motors, Reliance Industries, L&T, Hero MotoCorp and Jindal Steel up 1-2%.

ONGC, Gail India, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and ITC, up 0.7-0.9% were the other notable gainers.

Among the ones in the red were Mahindra & Mahindra, Coal India, Wipro, HDFC, Maruti Suzuki and Infosys, losing 0.4-1%.

The market breadth was positive. 745 stocks advanced while 317 stocks declined on the BSE.