Nifty hits 8,600; Tata Steel, Hindalco up over 2%

Metal shares were the top gainers after China reported better-than-expected Q4 GDP growth

Benchmark share indices extended gains after the first hour of trade led by financials while metal shares firmed up on the back of better-than-expected growth from China.

At 10:45AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 155 points at 28,417 and the 50-share Nifty was up 47 points at 8,598 after hitting 8,602.

Further, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 433.72 crore on Monday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

The Sensex needs to hold above 28,100 levels to continue the upswing towards 28,350 then 28,500 levels. On the downside, support exists at 28,000 levels then 27,850 levels, a technical analyst with Anand rathi said in a note.

Asian markets are trading higher. Nikkei has extended gains from yesterday and is trading higher by around 1.7%. Chinese stocks have rebounded from yesterday's huge slump ahead of the release of data on Chinese GDP growth for the fourth quarter. China reported 7.3% growth in the fourth quarter of last year, against a forecast of 7.2%. Shanghai Composite index has gained 1.8% while Hang Seng index has gained 0.7%.

All sectoral indices were trading in the green led by Metal index which was up nearly 2% followed by Bankex, Realty, Power and IT among others.

Metal shares firmed up on hopes of revival in demand for metals after China reported better-than-expected fourth quarter GDP growth. Tata Steel, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Sesa Sterlite were up over 2% each.

Index heavyweight ITC was up over 1% contributing the most to the gains on the Sensex.

Financial shares extended gains on hopes that lower interest rates would help revive credit growth. SBI, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were up 0.4-0.7% each. HDFC was up over 1% on expectations that demand for home loans would rise on the back of lower interest rates.

IT shares trimmed early gains. Infosys was up 0.6%, TCS up 0.2% and Wipro witnessed profit taking after recent gains and was down 0.2%.

Among other shares, CCL Products (India) has surged 7% to Rs 187 on National Stock Exchange (NSE) after reporting a strong 52% year on year (yoy) jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 26.11 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2014 (Q3), on back of healthy operational income.  The company had profit of Rs 17.19 crore in a year ago quarter.

Shanthi Gears has soared 12% to Rs 175, extending its previous day’s 20% rally on NSE, after SBI Fund Management bought nearly 2% stake in the company for Rs 19 crore through open market.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up over 0.5% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,458 gainers and 701 losers on the BSE.