Sensex hovers around 25,500; Infosys up 2%

30-share Sensex is up 160 points at 25,489 and the 50-share Nifty has climbed 45 points at 7,613.

Markets are trading firm with Index heavyweights Infosys, M&M and HDFC contributing nearly 100 points to the rise on the 30-share index. At 2:20 pm, the Sensex is up 160 points at 25,489 and the 50-share Nifty has climbed 45 points at 7,613.

 

Rupee

 

The Indian rupee was trading marginally lower at Rs 60.17 compared to the previous close of Rs 60.14. Gains in stock markets helped improve sentiment for the Indian currency.

 

Global Markets

 

Asian market gained after easing of tensions between Ukraine and Russia while the internal conflict in Iraq continued to weigh on investor sentiment capping upside gains. The Nikkei ended up 2.3% at 15,130.52 while the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng were up over 1% each while Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.7%.

 

European shares firmed up in early trades today as easing tensions in Ukraine helped improve investor sentiment. The CAC-40, DAX and FTSE-100 were up 0.5-1% each.

 

Sectors & Stocks

 

The BSE Auto index is the top sectoral gainer up 2.3% followed by Realty, Bankex and Capital Goods indices among others. FMCG and Power indices are  losing sheen on the Sensex. 

 

Auto shares firmed up post robust earnings during the June quarter and encouraging sales growth during July. M&M is the top Sensex gainer up 7% while Maruti Suzuki is up 1.5%. Tata Motors is up nearly 2% ahead of its June quarter earnings later today.

 

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has surged over 7% to Rs 1,281 on expectation of agri machinery sector would get strong booster over next 2-3 years as better prospects of agriculture sector supported by number of government aids and more focus on rural economy by new government.

 

Among the index heavyweights, Infosys has gained 2.3% and HDFC has surged nearly 2%. L&T and Sesa Sterlite are among the other Sensex gainers.

 

Bank shares are trading in the positive territory following RBI's neutral stance on key rates. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI are up 0.6-1.1% each.

 

On the flip side, IT majors TCS and Wipro are trading marginally in red.

 

Dr Reddy’s lab, NTPC, GAIL and Tata Power are some of the notable names in the negative territory, trading lower between 1-2.5%.

 

Among other shares, Gati is trading higher by 4% at Rs 142, extending its 10% rally in past two trading days on BSE, after reporting a 111% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 15 crore for the first quarter ended June 2014 (Q1FY15), on back of strong operational performance.

 

Shares of real estate companies continue to be in focus and trading higher by up to 5% on the bourses after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved the setting up and listing of Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Trusts, commonly referred to as REITs. DLF, Indiabulls Real Estate, Unitech, Oberoi Realty, Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL), Phoenix and Prestige Estates have rallied between 2-5% each.

 

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index has gained 0.6% and Small-cap index has climbed1%.

 

Market breadth is strong with 1,669 gainers and 1,119 losers on the BSE.