ICICI Bank, HDFC lifts Sensex higher

Indian equities continued to rise for the second day on Tuesday.The benchmark index Sensex ended on a positive note led by heavyweights Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, DLF and ICICI Bank Auto, consumer durables, and oil & gas stocks dropped, while realty, metal and healthcare stocks edged lower. After a negative start, the index turned into green and remained rangebound throughout the day. Buying was seen in select frontliners. Not much movements seen in the markets today. Finally it closed in green after touching a high of 16,324.93. All eyes on railway budget to be announced tomorrow.

On global front, European stocks rose for the tenth time in 12 days before a report that may show German business confidence climbed to a 19-month high. US index futures advanced.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex gained 49.27 points or 0.30% at 16,286.32 with 18 components registering rise. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty climbed by 13.65 or 0.28% at 4,870.05 with 28 components posting rise (updated as on 16.03).

Sensex Movers

ICICI Bank contributed rise of 20.26 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Housing Development Finance Corporation (11.02 points), Sterlite Industries (India) (5.94 points), Infosys Technologies (5.75 points) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (5.73 points).

However, Reliance Industries contributed fall of 8.72 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Maruti Suzuki India (8.61 points), Mahindra & Mahindra (3.49 points), Reliance Infrastructure (2.54 points) and Tata Motors (2.24 points).

Biggest gainers in the 30-share index were Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (2.37%), DLF (1.67%), ICICI Bank (1.64%), Sterlite Industries (India) (1.58%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (1.29%), and Wipro (1.15%).

On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki India (3.24%), Reliance Energy (1.32%), Mahindra & Mahindra (1.25%), Hero Honda Motors (0.87%), Tata Motors (0.83%), and Hindustan Unilever (0.47%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Midcap index was at 6356.53 down by 37.8 points or by 0.59%. The major losers were Reliance MediaWorks (2.33%), Aban Offshore (0.99%), A I A Engineering (0.89%), Alstom Projects India (0.48%) and Core Projects and Technologies (0.46%).

The BSE Smallcap index was at 8043.9 down by 74.62 points or by 0.92%. The major losers were Provogue (India) (2.99%), A B G Shipyard (2.2%), INEOS ABS (India) (2.13%), Abhishek Industries (1.38%) and Aarti Industries (0.9%).

Sectors in Limelight

The Realty index was at 3,163.33, up by 30.06 points or by 0.96%. The major gainers were Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (3.51%), D L F (1.67%), Ackruti City (1.2%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (0.96%) and Indiabulls Real Estate (0.82%).

The Metal index was at 16,029.22, up by 115.24 points or by 0.72%. The major gainers were Sesa Goa (3.31%), Hindustan Zinc (2.01%), JSW Steel (1.99%), Hindalco Industries (0.39%) and Jindal Steel & Power (0.05%).

The HC index was at 4,861.43, up by 31.69 points or by 0.66%. The major gainers were Aurobindo Pharma (2.67%), Dr Reddy`S Laboratories (2.24%), Piramal Healthcare (1.61%), Glaxo SmithKline Pharmaceuticals (1.41%) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (1.05%).

On the other hand, the Auto index was at 6,879.71, down by 127.19 points or by 1.82%. The major losers were Bajaj Auto (4.03%), Ashok Leyland (2.99%), Apollo Tyres (2.95%), Amtek Auto (2.91%) and Bharat Forge (1.86%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was negative with 877 advances against 1,930 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

Aqua Logistics topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 4,657.17 million. It was followed by Titagarh Wagons (Rs. 1,116.43 million), Monsanto India (Rs. 1,031.54 million) and Tata Steel (Rs. 866.81 million).

The volume chart was led by Aqua Logistics with trades of over 19.06 million shares. It was followed by Unitech (5.56 million), Ruchi Soya Industries (5.14 million) and Greenearth Resources and Projects (4.04 million).