Sensex zooms over 250 points; ITC and HDFC top gainers

Main gainers on the Sensex are GAIL, HDFC, ITC, M&M and BHEL

Markets have extended gains and are trading near day’s high led by index heavyweight shares like ITC and HDFC.

By 9:45, the Sensex was higher by 285 points at 25,316 mark and the Nifty surged by 72 points at 7,566.

The main gainers on the Sensex are GAIL, HDFC, ITC, M&M and BHEL, all surging between 2 -3%.

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Updated at 9:28


Markets have started the trading session on a higher note tracking firm global cues.

By 9:30, the Sensex was higher by 158 points at 25,190 mark and the Nifty surged by 38 points at 7,530.

Markets will remain volatile in the near future as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month June series to July series. The near-month June 2014 F&O contract expire on Thursday.

On the global front, Asian shares were subdued on Tuesday while major currencies kept to recent snug ranges after a surprisingly soft reading on euro zone manufacturing took the shine off better data from China, Japan and the United States.

Moves were marginal as markets slipped into something of a summer lull and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was just a fraction firmer. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.6% while South Korea added 0.3%.

Likewise, Wall Street had barely budged with the Dow off 0.06% and the S&P 500 0.01%, while the Nasdaq added 0.01%.

Back home, rupee is trading at 60.14 per dollar vs previous close of 60.20/21.

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

The main gainers on the Sensex are ITC, GAIL, BHEL, HDFC, M&M, Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, Hero Moto and Tat Power, all gaining between 1-2%.

On the losing side, HUL, Wipro, Infosys and TCS are trading marginally negative.

Shares of oil and gas companies are trading higher by up to 2% in opening deals after Brent crude recorded its largest one-day decline in seven weeks on Monday.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Gail India are trading firm between 1-2% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The broader markets are performing well in line with the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained by nearly 1% each.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 939 shares advancing and 240 shares declining.