Volatile markets end higher

Sensex ends higher by 92 points

The markets ended higher in trades today on the back of buying witnessed by heavyweight stocks. The Sensex provisionally closed at 17,858, up 92 points and the Nifty ended at 5,391, up 28 points.
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(Updated at 1435 hours)

Markets are trading near the day's high high in the late noon deals on expectations that the government will raise diesel, cooking gas and kerosene prices post the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs meet (CCPA) due later in the day today.  The Sensex has advanced 74 points to 17,840 and the 50-share Nifty is up 18 points at 5,381 levels.

Meanwhile, the Global markets were trading lower as investors waited for a German ruling on the euro zone's new bailout fund, elections in the Netherlands and potential new stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

In Europe, The CAC40 index slipped 0.5% or 17 points at 3,489, DAX was down 0.2% at 7,197 and the FTSE100 was down 0.4% at 5,468 levels.

Most of the Asian markets also closed weak. The Nikkei ended weaker by 62 points at 8,807 and Shanghai Composite slipped 14 points to 2,120 . While, the Hang Seng closed marginally higher, up 30 points at 19,857.

Back home, HDFC is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. It has jumped 2% to Rs 755 after HDFC allotted 5.47 crore shares worth Rs 3,285 crore on conversion of warrants on maturity to holders, who have made a profit of around 122% per unit.

GAIL India, TCS, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, BHEL, ITC, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Infosys, Cipla, Sun Pharma and ONGC are also trading higher by 0.4-1.8% each.

On the other hand, Sterlite Industries has slipped 5% to Rs 93 after the Goa government ordered to shut all mining operations effective from today until further orders.

“A notification suspending all operations was issued by the state government following the indictment of former chief minister Digambar Kamat by the Shah commission, which inquired the illegal mining in the state," the newspaper report suggests.

Jindal Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, HUL, Larsen & Toubro, SBI, Coal India and HDFC Bank are also trading weaker by 0.2-3% each.

On the sectoral front, IT index is the top gainer. The index has advanced 0.7% or 42 points to 6,025. Realty, teck, FMCG, consumer durables, oil & gas, power, bankex and PSU indices are also trading higher by 0.3-0.7% each.

At the same time, metal, capital goods and auto indices are trading on a weak note.

Among the individual stocks, Opto Circuits (India) has moved higher by 5% at Rs 137 after its subsidiary Opto Eurocor Healthcare launched its first Sirolimus Drug Eluting Stent (DES), E-MAGIC® Plus.

Muthoot Finance has rallied 8% to Rs 148 on plans to raise funds up to Rs 500 crore through secured non-convertible debentures (NCD).

Tulip Telecom has locked down circuit of 5% at Rs 77.25 for second day in a row on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The stock of telecom services provider is under pressure as company yet to tie-up funds for redemption of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs). The stock has underperformed the market by falling 28% in past one month as compared to 1% gain in benchmark Sensex.

The broader markets are trading in-line with the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are up 0.3% each.

The overall breadth is positive as 1,444 stocks are advancing while 1,266 are declining