Reliance leads Sensex recovery

Markets recovered steadily in late morning trades, led by index heavyweight, Reliance Industries.

The Sensex touched its lowest in over 5 months at 18,038 in morning trades as Asian markets fell. Worries about the Egyptian turmoil spreading to other Middle Eastern countries dragged bourses as investors tried to avoid riskier assets.

However, with Reliance gaining in late morning trades, the oil & gas index helped the Sensex recover 200 points from its low. The Sensex was down 237 points at 18,158.

The Nifty was down 65 points at 5,447.

BSE mid and small-cap indices underperformed. The indices were down 1.2% each at 6,815 and 8,444, respectively.

BSE oil & gas index jumped 1.5% to 9,513.

ONGC jumped over 6% on a strong performance in the December quarter. Oil India and Gail India gained 2-4% each. Market heavyweight, Reliance, added 1.5% to Rs 927. Meanwhile, OMCs were in the red with BPCL, HPCL and IOC down around 1-2% each.

Capital goods and power indices were also in green, even as IT, realty and auto indices languished.

HDFC was down 4% at Rs 622. Jaiprakash Associates, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Tata Power were down 2-3% each. Other losers included ITC, Hero Honda, Infosys and Reliance Communications.

On the other hand, BHEL, Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever were trading marginally in green.