Nifty hovers around 6,100; IT drags

RIL, L&T, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ONGC and Mahindra & Mahindra among the top gainers

Markets continue to hold on to its morning gains with the BSE benchmark index steady  with a 152 point gain at 20,572 and the Nifty was hovering marginally above the 6,100 level at 6,103.

The ones leading the gains in late morning trades were Reliance Industries, L&T, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ONGC and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Broader markets too remained firm with the mid and smallcap indices adding on 0.8-0.9%, almost in line with the BSE benchmark index.

Rupee

The rupee fell in early trades with the unit at 62.36 per dollar versus Wednesday's close of 62.14/15. Month-end oil-related dollar demand will keep the UD/INR pair bid. RBI's special FX swap windows, which have garnered over $25 billion, will close in end-November, leading to some jitters on flows.

Asian markets

Asian shares were in a buoyant mood, with Japanese stocks charging towards a 5-1/2 year peak on Thursday after the yen fell sharply on the back of relatively positive U.S. economic data, while two major regional currencies slumped.

As the yen tumbled, Tokyo's Nikkei benchmark climbed 1.2 percent to 15,631.35, closing in on a 5-1/2 year peak of 15,942.60 reached in May.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.6 percent, hitting a one-week high.

Sectors & Stocks

The BSE Capital Goods index was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on the BSE up 1.7% followed by Oil and Gas, Realty, Bankex, Auto, Power and Metal indices up 0.9-1.5%.

IT heavyweights, Infosys and TCS down 0.3% each were the only scrips in the negative among the Sensex-30.

Dr Reddys Lab, Sesa Sterlite up 2% each were the top gainers followed by Reliance Industries, L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, BHEL, ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Tata Steel, all adding 1-1.8%.

Among other stocks, Biocon was trading higher by 1% at Rs 389, extending its previous day’s over 3% rally, after the company said it has received approval from the Indian drug regulator to market its biosimilar trastuzumab developed jointly with Mylan for treating breast cancer.

Alstom T&D India gained over 3% at Rs 171 after the company said it is planning to raise up to Rs 294 crore through sale of shares to institutional investors on November 29.

The market breadth was very strong. 1,187 stocks advanced while 710 stocks declined on the BSE.