Sensex gains for fifth day in a row

The Sensex rose for a fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, while State Bank of India rose on hopes of rising demand for loans in the holiday season.

The recent gains have come amid largely cautious sentiment as investors wait for the US election results, and as uncertainty prevails over Greece’s next aid payment.

Quarterly results from blue chips such as Tata Motors and State Bank of India, which are due this week, will be key for near-term direction, but analysts say a clear roadmap on reforms and actual groundwork is more important for medium-term view.

“Markets will make an attempt to go up further, and is optimistic that government will come out with next round of reforms which should kick start the investment cycle,” said Mehraboon Irani, principal and head of private client group at Nirmal Bang Securities.

The investment cycle would be stoked by action on issues such as National Investment Bill, land acquisition and clear coal linkages, Irani added.

The Sensex rose 0.29 per cent, or 54.51 points, to end at 18,817.38, bringing its gains to 2.1 per cent over the past five sessions.

The Nifty rose 0.35 per cent, or 20.20 points, to 5,724.40, gaining over 2.26 per cent over the previous five sessions.

State Bank of India rose 1.3 per cent ahead of its September quarter results on Friday.

Property firms gained, with Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd up 5.85 per cent and DLF up 1.9 per cent on hopes for a pickup in demand tied to the Diwali festival season in mid-November, a time considered auspicious in the country.

Cement makers extended a recent winning streak on continued hopes that cement prices will rise on the back of a stronger seasonal demand.

ACC gained 2.6 per cent, up for a fifth consecutive session and Ambuja Cements gained 2.57 per cent, up for a fourth session.

Angel Broking said the battery maker posted “extremely strong results,” adding that earnings growth was driven by the automotive battery replacement segment, as well as by momentum in the tubular and home uninterruptible power supply (UPS) segment.

Ashok Leyland rose 0.6 per cent after Morgan Stanley upgraded it to 'overweight' from 'underweight', calling the bus- and truck-maker "a good proxy to play the eventual industrial recovery."

However, among stocks that fell, Tata Motors ended 1.06 per cent lower ahead of earnings on Wednesday, even as Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to 'overweight' from 'equal weight', citing more stability in the China market, among other factors.