Sensex ends up 187 pts

The Sensex ended (provisional) at 17,050 - up 187 points. Nifty ended up 59 points at 5,123.
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(Updated at 1434 hrs)

Markets have extended gains in late noon trades on continued buying in the realty, banking and metal space. The Sensex after opening with a positive gap on the back of strong global cues, moved upwards and touched a high of 17,157.  The Sensex is at 17,110, up 247 points and the Nifty is at 5,141, up 76 points.

Global stocks jumped on bargain hunting after the recent steep decline. Nikkei gained 2% to 8,763 on short covering after three consecutive days of losses. Jakarta and Taiwan markets soared 2.4% each. In Europe too, CAC has surged 2.6% to 3,044. DAX has rallied 3% to 5,355.

Going forward, the markets may take cues from the US President Barrack Obama's speech to the Congress, due on Thursday, highlighting ways to boost hiring. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to discuss the nation's economic outlook on the same day, in Minnesota.

Buying by the Foreign Institutional Investors has also gained some traction lately. They were net buyers of Rs 432 crore in cash, while the Domestic Institutional Investors were net sellers of Rs 415 crore.

Market heavyweight, Reliance, continued to shine after BP Plc said it is confident of of raising natural gas production from its eastern offshore KG-D6 block in two years time. The stock was the biggest contributor the Sensex's upmove and added 2% to Rs 837.

J P Associates jumped 7% to Rs 71 on news reports that the company is in talks with Votorantim, Cemex for a minority stake sale. The company is exploring the option of roping in a strategic partner for its cement business. It is in talks with South America conglomerates such as Cemex and Votorantim Group, who have a global presence.

DLF has gained 4% to Rs 206. Hindalco, HDFC Bank, Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro also advanced 3% each.

Meanwhile, some weakness was witnessed in IT, FMCG and auto stocks with ITC, HUL, M&M, Bajaj Auto and Infosys down marginally in trades.

BSE market breadth was positive. Out of 2,833 stocks traded, 1,982 have advanced while 766 stocks have declined on the BSE