Sensex rises over 200 points, Nifty aims 8,500; HDFC up 2%

Benchmark indices have edged higher and have gained around 1% led by index heavyweight shares.

At 12:15, the 30-share Sensex was higher by 215 points at 28,024 and the Nifty gained 57 points at 8,478.

The top five gainers on the Sensex are SBI, HDFC, Sun Pharma, TCS and ICICI Bank, all surging between 1-3%.

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Updated at 11:25

Benchmark indices continue to trade firm supported by global markets along with strong buying among financials and index heavyweight shares like ITC and Reliance Inds.

At 11:25, the 30-share Sensex was higher by 174 points at 27,983 after hitting 28,000 mark in intra-day deals and the Nifty gained 42 points at 8,463.

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up over 0.5%. The market breadth is healthy on the BSE with 1,255 shares advancing versus 929 shares declining.

In the currency front, the rupee was up marginally by 5 paise to 63.59 against the US dollar on continued selling of the American currency by banks and exporters.

Meanwhile, Coal India, ITC and State Bank of India will announce their Q4 results today.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE FMCG index has surged over 1% followed by counters like Banks, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas, all gaining between 0.4-0.7%. However, BSE Metal index has dipped by 0.2%.

The top gainers on the Sensex are SBI, ITC, HDFC, ICICI Bank, TCS and ONGC.

SBI and ITC have surged between 2-3% ahead of Q4 numbers.

A special court today granted bail to Naveen Jindal and nine others in a case of alleged irregularities in the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. Shares of Jindal Sttel has gained over 2%. Jindal SAW is up over 1%.

On the losing side, Vedanta, Bajaj Auto, Wipro, Hindalco and Hero Moto have slipped between 0.8-1.3%.

Bajaj Auto has dipped by almost 2%. Hit by declining sales, Bajaj Auto reported 18.62% fall in standalone net profit at Rs 621.62 crore for the fourth quarter ended Mach 31.

SMART MOVERS

Shares of Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, touched an all-time high of Rs 790 on the NSE, after its arm Adani Mining signed up buyers for around 70% of the coal it plans to produce from a huge mine in Australia.

Suven Life Sciences Ltd has firmed up on the bourses after receiving one product patent from Mexico and one product patent from Singapore corresponding to the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases.

Rane (Madras) has weakened by more than 6% this morning after posting a weak set of numbers or FY2014-15.

Voltas has strengthened by more than 7% this morning due to a rise in net profits in the fourth quarter.

Shares of Infinite Computer Solutions (India) are locked at the lower circuit of 20% at Rs 210 on the BSE after the company said that net profit for the financial year 2015-16 (FY16) is expected to be flat.