Nifty crosses 5,700 led by banks & auto

Benchmark indices are trading near day’s high with Nifty hitting the psychological mark of 5,700 led by global markets and rate sensitive shares.

At 15:10 PM, the Sensex was up 291 points at 19,238 and the Nifty surged by 90 points at 5,702.

European shares hit a 2-1/2 month high and the dollar was on course for its first three-day rise since June on Tuesday before data expected to paint an improving economic picture on both sides of the Atlantic.
 

A sentiment survey from Germany is seen bolstering recent signs of momentum in Europe's powerhouse economy while the fastest rise in British house prices in seven years signalled the pick-up going on there too.

Back home, BSE Realty and BSE Bankex indices have surged between 3-4%. Apart from Consumer Durables and Metal, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in green zone.

The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include NTPC, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and HDFC, all surging between 3-4%.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,386 shares advancing and 842 shares declining.


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Updated at 13:47 PM

Benchmark indices maintain the steady trend amid firm global cues, along with rate-sensitive sectors leading the rally.  

At 13:50 PM, the Sensex was up 196 points at 19,145 and the Nifty surged by 59 points at 5,672. The Sensex and Nifty have touched an intra-day high of 19,160 and 5,677 levels, respectively.

On the global front, Japanese shares rose sharply and the yen fell after a media report on Tuesday said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering a cut in corporate tax to counter the pain of a planned sales tax increase, while gold eased but held near three-week highs.  

European shares rose on Tuesday, climbing for a fourth straight session, on expectations of robust European data which could see equity markets flirt with their highs of the year.

The FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.5% at 1,235.85 by 0737 GMT, its highest level since late May and within sight of its 2013 peak of 1,258.09. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 was also up 0.5%, at 2,841.41.

Back home, the rupee slumped to near a record low on Tuesday on doubts about the government's latest plan to narrow the current account deficit, deepening concerns about the economy and fears of more foreign capital outflows.

India's finance minister announced a slew of measures on Monday in a bid to relieve some of the grinding pressure on the currency, focusing on curbing imports and raising money abroad.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief Duvvuri Subbarao said on Tuesday that "perhaps" there was a need to reduce the reserves that banks have to set aside via the cash reserve or the statutory liquidity ratios.

On the sectoral front, rate sensitive sectors like Realty, Auto and Banks have zoomed between 2-3%. Sectors like Power, Healthcare, IT, Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas have gained by 1% each. Apart from Metal, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in green zone.

Shares of rate sensitive sectors such as banks, auto and realty have moved higher as the Reserve Bank of India chief Duvvuri Subbarao said that "perhaps" there was a need to reduce the reserves that banks have to set aside via the cash reserve or the statutory liquidity ratios.

M&M, Bajaj Auto, Hero Moto and MRF from Auto sector have surged between 2-4%.

From the banking sopace, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and  IndusInd Bank have risen between 1-4%.

Realty majors like Oberoi Realty, DB Realty, DLF, Peninsula Land and Anant Raj Inds have spurted between 3-13%.

IT majors continue to maintain firm trend on weak rupee. Wipro, TCS and Infosys have gained between 1-3%.

Cipla has extended yesterday’s gains and have surged by nearly 3% on reporting strong Q1 nos. However, Morgan Stanley has downgraded Cipla to "underweight" from "equal-weight" and reduces its target price on the stock to 386 rupees from 414 rupees citing slower growth prospects and valuations.

On the losing side, Hindalco Industries is the top Sensex loser, trading lower by over 4% at Rs 90, in otherwise firm market, ahead of April-June (Q1) earnings today.

Coal India, ONGC and ITC have declined between 1-2%.

Among other shares, Bajaj Finance has surged 7.5% to Rs 1,216, extending its previous day’s nearly 8% rally, after the foreign investor Acacia II Partners LP bought more than three lakh shares of non-banking finance company for Rs 33 crore.

Autoline Industries has rallied 13% to Rs 80, extending its previous day’s 20% surge, after the company said Autoline Industrial Parks Limited, a subsidiary of the company, has executed a term sheet with Smart Value Homes Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Company to explore the possibility of development of Special Township on its land located at Chakan (Pune).

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,299 shares advancing and 818 shares declining.