Nifty up 56.50 pts, nears 10K

Benchmark Nifty gained 56.50 points to end at 9,974.40 today despite disappointing GDP numbers as investors lapped up auto, pharma and realty stocks.
Rebound in manufacturing activity in August also boosted sentiment. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rebounded to 51.2 in August from a low of 47.9 in the previous month.
Overseas, European stocks rose as Eurozone manufacturing activity accelerated in August, clocking the fastest rise in export orders since February 2011 despite a strengthening currency.
Asian stocks gained following positive economic data from China.
The 50-share Nifty opened higher at 9,937.65 and moved in a range of 9,983.45 and 9,909.85 before ending at 9,974.40, up by 56.50 points, or 0.57 percent from its last close.

It saw an intra-day movement of about 73.60 points.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Realty gained by 2.05 per cent followed by Pharma 2.39 per cent, Media 2.05 per cent, Auto 1.99 per cent, Metal 1.95 per cent, Private Bank 0.77 per cent, Energy 0.52 per cent, Bank 0.48 per cent and FMCG 0.28 per cent.
IT was the lone loser, shedding 0.42 per cent.
Major index gainers were Dr Reddy's, Aurobindo Pharma, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors DVR and Hindalco.
Index losers included IOC, TCS, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HDFC and HDFC Bank.
The Nifty Midcap and smallcap indices advanced by 1.25 per cent and 1.08 per cent, respectively.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. A total of 1,106 scrips advanced, 566 declined, while 75 remained unchanged.
As many as 131 securities hit their price bands.
Turnover in the cash segment fell to Rs 27,336.46 crore from Rs 34,429.46 crore yesterday.
A total of 13,555.29 lakh shares changed hands in 9,020,029 trades. The market capitalisation of listed firms on the NSE stood at Rs 1,31,99,225.14 crore.