Things get better for the markets

The markets have extended their gains in the mid-morning session. Given the huge build-up of short positions, accompanying Friday's weakness, the continued strength across the Asian bourses this morning has been just the trigger to induce a wave of short-covering in our bourses. The Sensex has recaptured the 17k mark and is now quoting near the day's highs of 17064, higher by 295 points, and the Nifty is at 5113, up 95 points. The midcap index is 1.7% higher at 6953 and the small-cap space is up 1.9% at 8881.

Tata Steel continues to be the leading gainer on the BSE. The metal major is trading at Rs 581, higher by Rs 22 or 4%. Hindalco has surged by 3.7% at Rs 169 and Sterlite has added 3.6% at Rs 740. And RIL is up 2.8% at Rs 1063.

On the other hand, Cipla is now down 5.3% a Rs 323, Reliance Communication has shed 0.3% at Rs 152 and ITC is trading flat, with a negative bias, at Rs 258.

The market breadth is positive. Out of 2658 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 2010 advancing stocks as against 589 declines.