Sensex gains nearly 100 pts; BSE Smallcap index up 2%

Benchmark indices have extended the gains led by buying among metal, banks and power shares.

At 1330 hrs, the 30-share Sensex was up 91 points at 22,434 and the 50-unit Nifty gained 24 points at 6,720 at 1147 hrs.

Adds Kunal Bothra, Technical Analyst, LKP Securities,” It’s a good comeback after 3-4 days of correction on the indices. I think now 6650 could be termed as a crucial support for Nifty, and could be taken as the trailing stop loss for long positions in the indices. Till that time, we believe it is advisable to hold on to long positions.”

On the global front, Japanese stocks stumbled 2.1% to a three-week low on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda raised doubts over whether the central bank will ease its policy stance anytime soon, sending the yen higher.

The benchmark Nikkei extended its losing streak to a fourth day to close at 14,299.69, dropping 307.19 points in the biggest fall since March 14. The index shed more than 5% in the last four sessions and down 12.2% this year.

The slide was triggered after Kuroda on Tuesday offered few signs the central bank was ready to launch additional stimulus in the short term.

Back home, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 703.71 crore on Monday, 7 April 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The stock markets were closed on Tuesday, 8 April 2014, on account of Ram Navami.

On the sectoral front, BSE Metal and Realty indices have surged by nearly 2% each followed by counters like Banks, Capital Goods, Power, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Auto, all gaining by 1% each.

The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Sun Pharma, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, SBI, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank.

Shares in Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries and Ranbaxy Laboratories are trading higher by up to 5% as UBS raised the rating on these stocks to ‘Buy’ after the acquisition deal.

Sun Pharma has rallied 5% to Rs 618 and Ranbaxy Laboratories is up 3% at Rs 459 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Sun Pharma on Monday announced that it will acquire 100% of Ranbaxy Laboratories in a $4 billion all-share transaction.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained between 1-2%.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,639 shares advancing and 895 shares declining.