Sensex closed with gains of 162 points at 12787 and the Nifty added 42 points to end at 3733. Nifty April futures closed at a discount of 37 points to the spot index.

Sterlite Industries celebrated its inclusion in the Nifty with an 8.13 per cent surge. Reliance Petroleum, another new entrant in the Nifty, rallied 4.82 per cent.

Zee Entertainment sustained its rally and added another 4.84 per cent. Promoters of the company have announced a domestic cricket league and the broadcast rights for the same may help the company.

HDFC saw a major up move and closed 4.92 per cent higher
BHEL rallied 4.37 per cent after the company announced excellent proforma results yesterday. ABB added 2.42 per cent.

Among tech stocks, HCL Tech added 3.52 per cent and Wipro ended 2.83 per cent higher.

Dr Reddy's extended its gains with a 3.83 per cent rally while Cipla added 2.39 per cent.

Cement stocks lost ground following the government decision to lower import duties on cement. Grasim slipped 1.95 per cent and Gujarat Ambuja lost 0.76 per cent. Ultratech Cemco ended 4.91 per cent lower.

Hero Honda was the worst performer among Nifty stocks, closing 2.82 per cent lower. M&M gave up 2.12 per cent while Maruti closed 1.39 per cent lower.

Among FMCG stocks, HLL lost 1.2 per cent and ITC gave up 0.77 per cent.

Satyam remained weak throughout the session and ended 1.64 per cent lower.

Among other major losers, Reliance Communications declined 1.04 per cent while PNB ended 0.6 per cent lower.

Global markets / crude oil
US markets rallied yesterday on an unexpected rise in home sales for the month of February, which helped ease fears of further decline in the housing sector. The correction in crude oil prices also helped market sentiment.

The Dow rallied close to 1.05 per cent while S&P 500 ended with gains of nearly 0.95 per cent. Technology stocks continued to do well and the NASDAQ closed with gains of over 1.15 per cent.

Asian markets continued to rally today as well. Japan was the best performer with gains of nearly 1.75 per cent, followed by Indonesia which added 1.45 per cent. South Korea and Singapore ended with gains of 1.35 per cent each. Malaysia gained 1.15 per cent while Hong Kong and Thailand ended with gains of over a per cent each. Shanghai closed almost unchanged from yesterday's levels.

European markets were mixed in opening, but have recovered modestly in the afternoon. Major European indices, except London, are trading with gains of between 0.2 and 0.25 per cent each in afternoon trades.

Crude oil prices declined yesterday on reports of a diplomatic settlement to the standoff over the capture of British sailors by Iran. Near month NYMEX futures closed at $64.64 per barrel yesterday. The commodity is trading with modest losses in European trades today.

Large-cap news flow

Mid-caps and small caps also rallied today, but gains were once again lower than large caps. The CNX Mid-cap index closed 39 points, or 0.83 per cent, higher at 4752. BSE mid-cap index also gained 0.83 per cent and BSE small cap index closed 1.15 per cent higher.

Select sugar stocks rallied after the Supreme Court upheld a government decision to ban new sugar mills close to existing mills. Uttam Sugar surged 19.61 per cent while Upper Ganges rallied 18.53 per cent

Jindal Drilling, Pitti Laminations, Uniphos Enterprises, Praj Industries, Lokesh Machines, Gujarat NRE Coke and Century Ply were among the other mid-cap gainers

Select mid-cap cement stocks lost ground today. JK Lakshmi, Dalmia Cement and Kesoram all lost around 5 per cent each

IndiaBulls Real Estate resumed its down trend and lost 5.29 per cent.

Rain Calcining, Dredging Corporation, Shree Precoated, Premier Limited and Nissan Copper were the major losers among mid-caps.

Mid-cap news flow

*Disclaimer: The author may have positions in some of the stocks specifically mentioned above at the time of writing this article. This analysis / report is only for the purpose of information and is not an investment advice. Readers are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before taking any investment decisions. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in the content the author or publisher shall not be held responsible for any loss caused to any person whatsoever.