Nifty up 26 pts as equities maintain momentum; metals dazzle

A smart rally in frontline metal, technology and infra stocks helped the bourses to overcome initial volatility and maintain its strong upsurge for the seventh straight session as the Nifty gained 26 points on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Fading fears of a hurried interest rate hike by the US Fed and buoyant overseas cues amid expectations of a growth-oriented budget largely influenced trading sentiment.
After witnessing tremendous swings most part of the session following heavy profit-taking, the key indices showcased a remarkable turnaround towards the tail-end. The bellwether index reclaimed the significant 8,900 mark briefly before concluding with modest gains.

Elsewhere, Japanese stocks rose to a 15-year high in thin Asian trading lifted by expectations the Federal Reserve may to keep interest rates low for longer and also positive export data.
The broader 50-share Nifty fluctuated between a high of 8,913.45 and a low of 8,794.45 before ending at 8,895.30, a rise of 26.20 points, or 0.30 per cent, over its last close.
Among the sectoral indices, CNX Metal dominated its peers surging by a whopping 3.54 per cent led by firm buying in key metal stocks. It followed by Infra, Technology and Energy. While, FMCG, Financials, Healthcare and Auto sectors faced renewed selling pressure alongwith Mid-cap and Small-cap.

Shares of gems and jewellery companies witnessed huge buying interest after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the ban on imports of gold coins and medallions by banks and trading houses.

Representing the metal sector, Jindal Steel and Power topped the gainers list, climbing by a massive 25 per cent after winning back some mines cancelled by the Supreme Court last year.
Other smart movers from the Nifty basket included HDFC, L&T, Infosys, TCS, Sesa Sterlite, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Hindalco, Bharti Artel, Tata Steel, HCL-Tech, Maruti, Tata power, Dr Reddy's, BPCL and Cipla.
On the flip side, Fmcg major ITC led the fall followed by ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, Tech-M, Axis Bank, Ultracemco, Wipro, Grasim, Bank of Baroda, Bajaj Auto, Ambuja Cem and HUL.

Turnover in the cash segment slipped to Rs 20,615.82 crore from Rs 22,230.6 crore yesterday. A total of 11,165.81 lakh shares changed hands in 79,03,271 trades. The market capitalisation at NSE stood at Rs 102,31,687 crore.