2:11 pm
Jack
A positive start on the European bourses has helped the Sensex regain the psychological 17,000 mark. At 1340 hours, the BSE benchmark was trading 261 points higher at 17,006 while the NSE advanced 80 points to 5,112.
France's CAC 40 and Britain's FTSE indices were trading with gains and the Dow Futures pointed to a strong start on the Wall Street. European indices shrugged off Italy's downgrade by S&P, an event that depressed Asian stocks in morning trade.
IT stocks extended gains with the BSE IT index jumping nearly 3 per cent. Banking stocks also joined the rally, rising over 1.5 per cent. Metals, realty, auto and consumer durables - were the other group of stocks to rise on the BSE.
Six stocks from banking and IT sector - Infosys, HDFC, TCS, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI - added nearly half of gains on the Sensex. Market bellwether Reliance was also trading higher adding to bullish sentiments.
Barring three stocks, 27 others were trading higher on the 30-stock BSE benchmark. Hindalco was the top gainer, rising over 3.5 per cent. Wipro and TCS were also trading with over 3 per cent gains. ONGC was the biggest loser on reports that upstream oil firms will have to pay more towards oil subsidies. Maruti continued to be in downtrend because of the standoff at its Manesar plant.
Export stocks advanced because of further weakening in the rupee. On the broader BSE 500 index, Prakash exports was the top gainer, rising over 11 per cent. Rajesh Exports advanced nearly 8 per cent. Everonn continued to rise for the sixth straight day and was trading 5 per cent higher.
Meanwhile, the market breadth was strong with nearly 75 per cent stocks rising on the BSE 500 index.
