BSE Sensex closes slightly up; bulls pause for a breather

Shares crawled higher Thursday, as investors trade cautiously with benchmark indices quoting at their highest levels in nearly two-and-a-half years. Buyers shifted attention to mid-cap shares, as these are now beginning to look attractive relative to frontline shares, which have risen sharply over the last month.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 20247.33, up 34 points after touching a 30-month high of 20326 intra-day. The 50-share Nifty closed at 6169.90, up 23.15 points over the previous close.

Key earnings announcements today included those of Bajaj Auto and Reliance Capital. Bajaj Auto shares closed marginally lower even though the net profit figure was better than analyst estimates. Reliance Capital shares closed flat after reporting a decline in fourth quarter earnings.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals, Glaxosmithkline Consumer, Wockhardt and OIL India firmed up on news of their being included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Index from June 1.

Key gainers included Apollo Hospitals, JP Infratech, Glaxosmithkl Consumer, 
Adani Ports and IRB Infra, which rose between 6-8 percent.

Laggards included Oracle, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Communications, Amara Raja Batteries and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, down 3-4 percent.

Hopes of commodity prices maintaining their downtrend, interest rates easing and continued global liquidity flows are the key sentiment drivers at this point.

But some experts caution that the market should not take a rate cut by the RBI for granted, even though the central bank has said that inflation is now in its comfort zone.

"If one looks at RBI's statements, they are not looking to cut rates in a hurry. It is only the markets, which have gone up expecting that to happen," Dharmesh Mehta of Axis Capital said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Crude remained stable around USD 103, and even though gold prices have been under pressure, India's current account deficit is still hurting from high gold imports.

Still, it may be too early to rejoice over falling commodity prices, especially crude.

"We think that on the energy side commodity prices can stabilise and slightly strengthen in the second half of the year. We do think that we will see something of a pick up in momentum across developed markets and in China in the second half of the year and also core supply constraints are likely to be an ongoing concern for the market," Sarah Hewin of Standard Chartered said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

"So overall for energy we certainly see prices stabilising and edging higher in the third quarter," she said.

Also, experts say it is hard to take a near term call on the market due to strong liquidity flows.

" It is impossible or very, very difficult to really gauge what liquidity can do. Sometimes it can really take the market to very unreasonable levels," Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS.

The total turnover for the day was also on the lower side at Rs 164541.78 crore. NSE Cash - Rs 12683 crore, NSE F&O - Rs 131306.15 crore, BSE Cash - Rs 2384.28 crore, BSE Futures - Rs 18168.35 crore

Key equity benchmarks consolidated today and managed to end in green after touching fresh multi-year highs in trade today. Shares of banks, realty, auto, pharma and capital goods continued to see buying in trade and closed with smart gains.

The Sensex closed at 20247.33, up 34.37 points or 0.17% and the Nifty ended at 6169.90 up 23.15 points or 0.38%. About 1183 shares advanced, 1270 shares declined, and 151 shares were unchanged..

Interest rate sensitives continue to outperform and extended their rally today on hopes of rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India.

Midcap stocks were star performers of the day. Apollo Hospitals, Jaypee Infra, IRB Infra, Anant Raj Industries, Bajaj Finance, Nectar LifeSciences, JM Financial, Nilkamal, Tecpro Systems and Everest Kanto were some of the biggest gainers in the broader markets.

Reliance Capital's quarterly earnings missed street expectations. The company's consolidated net profit fell by more than 20 percent to Rs 265 crore compared to Rs 329 crore a year ago. The bottomline numbers would look more dismal if one removes a tax revesal of Rs 85 crore.

Bajaj Auto numbers were in-line with estimates. Bajaj Auto's fourth quarter net profit slipped lower-than-expected 1 percent year-on-year to Rs 766 crore, amid sluggish demand for two-wheelers.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals, Oil India, Wockhardt and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare firmed up on news that they would be included in the (Morgan Stanley Capital International) India index from next month.

In commodities, Gold dropped to its weakest level in almost a month on Thursday, hurt by a firmer dollar and as holdings in exchange-traded funds fell to the lowest in over four years, potentially stretching bullion's losing streak to a sixth day.

3:29 pm Buzzer: Elder Pharmaceuticals was quoting at Rs 298.90, up Rs 27.15, or 9.99 percent.

03:22 pm Gold check: MCX Gold breaks Rs 26000 mark on the downside. MCX Gold June contract is trading at Rs 25946, down Rs 364 or 1.38 percent.

03:19 pm Vedanta Resources appoints HDFC's Deepak Parekh as Non-Executive Director.

03:17 pm European shares trading flat. DAX 8346.45 (-15.97 pts), CAC 3970.10 (-12.13 pts), FTSE 6694.89 (1.34 pts).

Gains in Indian shares remain muted in the last one hour of trade on Thursday after surging to fresh 30-month highs in morning. Realty, pharma, banks, capital goods and metal stocks were on buyer's radar today.

At 15.02 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 20.80 points or 0.10% at 20233.76, and the Nifty up 19.10 points or 0.31% at 6165.85. About 1118 shares have advanced, 1236 shares declined, and 170 shares are unchanged.

Reliance Capital reported consolidated net profit of Rs 265 crore in the fourth quarter. The company reported tax reversal of Rs 85 crore versus tax paid of Rs 85 crore a year ago.

Key gainers in the Nifty were Jaiprakash Associates (Rs 79.90, 5.41%), Lupin (Rs 807.85, 3.31%), IDFC (Rs 163.15, 3.23%), Hindalco (Rs 111.60, 3.00%) and Reliance Industries (Rs 842.00, 2.81%).

Laggards included NMDC (Rs 124.40, 3.08%), Jindal Steel (Rs 307.30, 1.73%), Tata Motors (Rs 303.85, 1.62%), ITC (Rs 337.20 , 1.53%) and Infosys (Rs 2,331.05, 1.25%)

2:55 pm Technology test: Slipping 1 percent each, TCS and Infosys are biggest losers among the IT stocks.

2:53 pm Corporate talk: Rajiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Auto told CNBC-TV18, "Bangladesh and Sri Lankan markets continue to underperform. I don't see growth in these markets right now. EBITDA margins will be maintained at 20 percent."

"Exports contribute at 33% of total revenue. Bajaj Auto is optimistic of maintaining double digit exports growth. The company continues to gain market share at retail level. " he added. On 3-wheelers, he expects 10-12 percent growth in this segment going forward.

2:50 pm Big mover: Tecpro Systems jumped 16.16 percent to Rs 85.90 on BSE as the firm entered into a license agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for manufacturing of electrostatic precipitator.

2:43 pm Market check: The Sensex is up 69.33 points at 20282.29, and the Nifty up 33.20 points at 6179.95. About 1141 shares have advanced, 1212 shares declined, and 169 shares are unchanged.

2:39 pm Buzzing now: JM Financial  jumps 17.73 percent at Rs Rs 23.90 on the BSE.

2:35 pm  Energy earnings: Vedanta Resources today reported a 21% increase in its core profits at USD 4.888 billion for the year ended March, 2013. The natural resources giant, whose most of the operations are in India, had reported $4.026 billion core profit or EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) in 2011-12. Its revenues rose by 7% to USD 14.989 billion in the last fiscal vis-a-vis USD 14.005 billion of FY12, it said in a statement.

2:30 pm Precious metal: Gold demand in India, the world's largest consumer, rose by 27% to 256.5 tonnes in the first quarter of 2013, World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday. The demand for the precious metal stood at 202.1 tonnes in the same quarter last year, it said.

2:23 pm Market Check: The Sensex is up 43.33 points at 20256.29, and the Nifty is 24.50 points at 6171.25.

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2:03 pm Earnings: Bajaj Auto's March quarter earnings were in-line with estimates: Its net profit was at Rs 766 crore compared to CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 709 crore. Revenues were at Rs 4990 crore.

After hitting 30-month highs in early trade, the Nifty cooled off but held above 6150. At 13.58 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 18.36 points at 20231.32, and the Nifty gained 18.40 points at 6165.15.

Realty, banking, capital goods, oil and gas were supporting the index.

Cipla's acquisition of South Africa-based pharma company Cipla Medpro is likely to boost its Africa business revenue by 2-3 percent, a top company official said on Thursday. Cipla Medpro South Africa had informed the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Wednesday that Cipla's offer had been approved by 99.7 percent of its sharehodlers. The stock was up 3.1 percent, the biggest gainer in the Sensex.

Other gainers were Dr Reddy's Lab, RIL, SBI and ICICI Bank.

Meanwhile, technology, auto and FMCG stocks were growing weak. ITC (down 2.2 percent), Infosys, TCS, Tata Motors and Jindal Steel were the losers in the Sensex.

Orchid Chemicals stock was reacting negatively (down 4.2 percent) after posting a loss of over Rs 130 crore in March quarter versus a profit of Rs 20 crore year-on-year. Margins have cracked to around 5 percent from 18 percent. In a surprising move, the company has decided to not give guidance this quarter.

Nectar LifeSciences surged over 30 percent in 3 days. See what management has to say.

See 2% margin growth in FY14: Nectar Lifesciences

TTK Prestige Q4 Results out, better than estimates. Stock up 3 percent.

The company posted 40 percent jump in net profit to Rs 28 crore compared to Rs 19.7 crore, a year ago. Sales suregd to Rs 283 crore from Rs 232.5 crore, in the same quarter last fiscal.

Commodity check: In commodities, Brent crude gains to 103 dollars per barrel. Gold continues its decline, down over a percent today to 1380 dollar levels.

Also Read: Gold demand in India rises by 27% in Jan-Mar: WGC

Currency check: In the currency space, the euro is trading at sub 1.29 levels to the dollar. The dollar index is strong, inching close to the 84 mark. Indian Rupee at 54.84, up 6 paise.

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Bajaj Auto Boardroom: Rajiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Auto told CNBC-TV18, "Bangladesh and Sri Lankan markets continue to underperform. I don't see growth in these markets right now. EBITDA margins will be maintained at 20 percent."

"Exports contribute at 33% of total revenue. Bajaj Auto is optimistic of maintaining double digit exports growth. The company continues to gain market share at retail level. " he added.

On 3-wheelers, he expects 10-12 percent growth in this segment going forward.

VIP Boardroom: International biz to recover; eye 11-12% CSD sales in FY14, says VIP

F&O Action Fresh longs seen in JP Associates (OI +29 lakh shares), DLF (OI up 6%), IDFC, Dr Reddy's, HDIL (OI +17 lakh shares), Unitech and IVRCL.

India VIX at 18.2, Nifty Open Interest Put Call Ratio at 1.24 vs 1.25. Highest OI Seen in Nifty 5800 Put, Nifty 6000 Put and Nifty 6200 Call .

01:31 pm Bajaj Auto Results out, in-line with estimates: Net profit at Rs 766 crore compared to CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 709 crore. Revenues at Rs 4990 crore. Stock up 1.5 percent.

News flash: No respite for Indian Rupee, 55 levels on cards, say Experts

01:17pm The broader markets are performing even better than the benchmark indices. Apollo Hospital (Rs 1,039.00, 7.57%), Indiabulls Real (Rs 85.10, 6.31%), Linde India (Rs 265.00, 5.60%), HDIL (Rs 59.50, 5.22%) Bajaj Finance (Rs 1,460.50, 4.33%).

Bajaj Auto Results Poll: Some key factors to note this time

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, revenues may rise nearly 3 percent to Rs 4,780 crores. However, profits may decline over 8 percent, Y-o-Y. Margins are expected to be lower.

- Lost 1% market share overall in FY13
- Outlook for volumes in both domestic and export markets.
- Update on RE-60 production timelines (quadricycle development)
- New launches for FY14

01:13 pm Bank Nifty surged over a percent at 13265.75, up 188 pts

01:10 pm Sectoral Gainers: Shares of realty, oil&gas, pharma, banks and capital goods surged in the afternoon trade

It was a stable session for the Nifty above 6150 after hitting 30-month highs in early trade. Pharma, financials and infrastructure led the charge. The midcap index outperformed, up 0.5 percent.

At 12.57 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 31.97 points at 20244.93, and the Nifty gained 22.30 points  at 6169.05. About 1064 shares have advanced, 1113 shares declined, and 144 shares are unchanged.

Key gainers in the Sensex were Dr Reddys Labs (Rs 2,130.00, 3.17%), Cipla (Rs 421.90, 2.54%), Reliance (Rs 836.70, 2.19%), SBI (Rs 2,435.15, 2.12%), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,214.00, 1.88%)

Laggards included ITC (Rs 334.75, 2.31%), Infosys (Rs 2,329.60, 1.3%), TCS (Rs 1,454.25, 1.02%), Jindal Steel (Rs 309.50, 0.96%) and Tata Motors (Rs 305.50, 0.94%).

12:45 pm: Dr Reddys Labs, Cipla, SBI, RIL and ICICI Bank are the top gainers in the Sensex.

12:37 pm: Easing commodity prices is what is making investors positive on Indian equities. This benefits India in terms a lower import bill as well as increased portfolio flows as investors trim exposure to commodities and increase that to equities.

"We could see energy prices stabilise for a while and then start edging up from the third quarter onwards," says Sarah Hewin of Standard Chartered.

Apollo Hospital, Indiabulls Real Estate, HDIL and CARE are leading midcap gainers at this hour, up between 5-8 percent.

ITC shares continue to be under pressure, with the stock down close to 3 percent.
 

12:30 pm: Bajaj Finance shares are up 3.6 percent at Rs 1450, after hitting a record high of Rs 1454 earlier in the day on strong fourth quarter earnings released Wednesday.

Brokerage house IIFL has reiterated its buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1930, saying the stock is attractively valued compared to its peers, because of strong earnings growth and capitalisation.

12:20 pm: Amara Raja Batteries continued to slide, with the stock down around 3 percent to Rs 251 as fourth quarter numbers announced earlier this week were below market expectations.

Brokerage house Nomura has retained its buy rating on the stock, but lowered price target to Rs 342 from Rs 359 earlier.

""We believe that margins have bottomed out and will improve from
here on led by a 12 percent drop in lead prices from 4Q FY13 levels and the price increases that the company took in Mar-13. We build in around 16 percent EBITDA margins over FY14-15, but believe that margins could overshoot in the near term due to the above factors," the Nomura note said.

12:08 pm: Midcap stocks are faring better than large caps today. For the calendar so far, midcaps have lagged their large cap counterparts. But following the rally in frontline shares over the last few weeks, second line shares now look relatively attractive. The BSE Midcap index is up 0.5 percent, compared to a 0.07 percent rise in the Sensex today

Market is holding steady in noon trade, with benchmark indices consolidating in a narrow range. The BSE Sensex is up 41 points at 20214 and the NSE Nifty is up 21 points at 6167.

Jaiprakash Associates, Dr Reddys Labs , Cipla, IDFC, Grasim, Reliance Infra and SBI, are the key gainers in the Nifty, up 2-4 percent.

Brokers say investors are getting a bit cautious at these levels, fearing that a sudden reversal in FII inflows could trigger a sharp correction.

"It is not only India which is going up, it is actually all global markets, more particularly we have seen the US and Europe. I think our target is somewhere around between 6250 and 6350 for the immediate term," Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS said in an interview to CNBC-TV18 earlier today.

ITC and Infosys were among the laggards, down 1-2 percent.

Easing wholesale and consumer inflation has been the biggest sentiment driver over the last few days, raising hopes that the Reserve Bank of India will further cut the benchmark repo rate at its next monetary policy review in June.

However, brokerage house HSBC has cautioned that India is not out of the woods yet, as far as inflation is concerned.

"CPI inflation, a broader and more representative measure of the inflationpicture, only remains a shade below double-digits and is proving stickier than WPI inflation. Moreover, inflation expectationsand wage pressures remain elevated and hikes in administered prices are still coming through," the brokerage said in a note to clients.

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11:47 am Shares that have gained the most during the last hour on NSE:

Kemrock Indus (Rs 47.50, up 4.50 or 10.47%), Parenteral Drugs (Rs 118.00, up Rs 11 or 10.28%), Gokaldas Export (Rs 34.10 up Rs 2.10 or 6.56%), Zydus Wellness (Rs 567.90, up Rs 27.40 or 5.07%)

News Flash: GVK Power and Infrastructure's power division is likely to hurt company financials , if fuel shortage concerns are not addressed in ensuing quarters.

11:33am Cement stocks buzzing Reports of Lafarge SA to sell 14 percent stake in Indian arm to Baring Private Equity lifts cement stocks.

11:25am Gold slides MCX Gold June contract was trading at Rs 26189 down Rs 121, or 0.46 percent. It touched an intraday high of Rs 26222 and an intraday low of Rs 26106. So far 5451 contracts have been traded.

11:23 am 52-week high Index heavyweights like Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Lupin and M&M touched fresh 52-week highs in trade today. Full list

11:16 am Intraday Block Deals: Major high-ticket deals in heavyweights like Idea Cellular, HUL, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Glaxo Smithkline Pharma, Power Grid, ITC, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, M&M, ONGC. Full list

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Buzzing Stocks

Polaris jumps 5 percent after papers report that the move by the company to divest its IT services unit, valued at 300 to 350 million dollars, has attracted bids from Wipro, HCL Technologies & L&T Infotech.

Orchid Chemicals stock is down after posting a loss of over Rs 130 crore versus a profit of Rs 20 crore year on year. Margins have cracked to around 5 percent from 18 percent. In a surprising move, the company has decided to not give guidance this quarter.

Linde India sets floor price of Rs 230 per share for stake sale by promoter in company. The stock was up 4 percent.

Investor confidence seem to be rising high. The Sensex was up 108.20 points at 20321.16, and the Nifty was up 36.70 points at 6183.45. About 1039 shares have advanced, 790 shares declined, and 118 shares are unchanged.

Oil and gas, banking and FMCG stocks were lending support to the indices.

Key gainers in the Nifty were Dr Reddys Labs, Jaiprakash Associates, Cipla, BPCL and Grasim, up between 2.5 to 3.7 percent.

Laggards included TCS, Jindal Steel, Tata Motors, ITC and Infosys, down close to 1 percent each.

In some important MSCI changes, Oil India has been added to the MSCI emerging market index. Additionally, Apollo Hospitals, GSK Consumer, Oil India and Wockhardt have been added to the India Index.

Manappuram cracked 3.4 percent after an extremely disappointing March quarter. The company reported a loss of around Rs140 crore versus a profit of Rs 187 crore year-on-year as the company had to undertake interest reversals.

Net interest income collapsed to Rs 13 crore from over Rs 400 crore. Even more worrying was the fact Manappuram did not recognize Rs 284 crore of NII and provisions on account of prudence.

10.52 am Market check: The Sensex is up 93.20 points  at 20306.16, and the Nifty up 34.80 points at 6181.55. About 1047 shares have advanced, 785 shares declined, and 104 shares are unchanged.

10: 50 am Gold value: Gold fell for a sixth session on Thursday in its longest losing streak since March 2009, after holdings in exchange-traded funds fell to their lowest in four years as rallying stock markets dulled bullion's safe-haven appeal. Spot gold had dropped 0.3 percent to USD 1,388.15 an ounce after hitting its weakest since April 19 at 1,386.89 an ounce. US gold eased 0.64 percent to USD 1,387.30.

10:41 am Macro mood: Indian economy is expected to pick up and grow in the range of 5.5-6.5 percent in 2013 even though government steps for new investments have been "relatively small in scope", Moody's said today. Citing cautious private sector and relatively high inflation, the global rating agency also said that the country is struggling to boost investment and economic growth.

10:40 am Major losers: ITC, Jindal Steel, TCS, Infosys and Tata Motors are dragging in the Sensex.

10.34 am Market levels: The Sensex is up 82.06 points  at 20295.02, and the Nifty up 30.95 points or 0.50% at 6177.70.

10:30 am Buzzing now: Bajaj Finserv lost 1.5 percent after consolidated net profit rose 3.64 percent to Rs 912.86 crore on 15.17 percent growth in total income from operations to Rs 2017.29 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.

What do experts say?

Rating upgrade seen; early to call interest rates: Axis Cap
Nifty heading 6200, don't short now: Aditya Birla Money
Mkt driven by momentum, buy on intraday dips: Sukhani

10:22 am Currency check: Rupee trades little changed at 54.79/80 versus its previous close of 54.78/79, after a mildly weaker start as a lower start to the domestic share market offsets the dollar's global weakness.

10:20 am Index check: Stocks of auto, IT, FMCG and consumer durables are  major losers largely on profit-booking.

10:15 am Buzzing now: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gains 6.3 percent at Rs 161.80 on the BSE after consolidated net profit surged 196.6% to Rs 710.31 crore on 53.7% growth in total income to Rs 1081.69 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.

10.10 am Market check: The Sensex is up 57.68 points at 20270.64, and the Nifty up 24.80 points  at 6171.55.  About 969 shares have advanced, 500 shares declined, and 70 shares are unchanged.

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Key equity benchmarks extended their rally today and surged another 0.5 percent in the opening bell. The Nifty is now trading at highest levels since November 2010. The Nifty is now 160 points away from its all-time high of 6335.

At 10.00 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 88.31 points or 0.44% at 20301.27, and the Nifty up 32.65 points or 0.53% at 6179.40. About 802 shares have advanced, 495 shares declined, and 66 shares are unchanged.

Key gainers in the Sensex were Dr Reddys Labs (Rs 2,127.00, 3.02%), ICICI Bank  (Rs 1,213.00, 1.79%), SBI (Rs 2,424.40, 1.67%), Larsen (Rs 1,602.20, 1.38%) and Cipla (Rs 416.50, 1.23%)

Laggards included (TCS Rs 1,452.05, 1.17%), Infosys (Rs 2,341.60, 0.79%), Tata Motors (Rs 306.45, 0.63%), ITC (Rs 340.95, 0.5% and Wipro (Rs 344.40, 0.49%)

09:54 pm Nifty hits 30-month high The Sensex is up 110.37 points or 0.55% at 20323.33 and the Nifty up 39.20 points or 0.64% at 6185.95. About 780 shares have advanced, 458 shares declined, and 61 shares are unchanged.

Gold Check: Gold dips for 6th session in longest losing streak in 4 yrs

News Flash: Manappuram Finance hits 52-week low after company reported loss of Rs 141 crore compared to profits of Rs 187 crore, a year ago.

09:42 am Key gainers in Banking: HDFC Bank (Rs 719.20, 0.62%), SBI (Rs 2425.90, 1.74%), HDFC (Rs 912.25, 0.27%), ICICI Bank (Rs 1214.50, 1.92%), Axis Bank (Rs 1533.15, 1.61%)

TRADING TIPS

Houseviews: 4 stocks brokerages have their eyes on today
Bull's eye: Buy Anant Raj, Allahabad Bank, Jain Irrigation

09:38 am Top gainers in the BSE Midcap: CARE (Rs 750.00, 5.75%), Apollo Hospital (Rs 1,010.00, 4.57%), Motilal Oswal (Rs 93.90, 4.28%), Amtek Auto (Rs 90.00, 3.27%), Motherson Sumi (Rs 219.00, 3.13%)

Rupee Check: Indian Rupee opens at 54.74 per dollar

09:32 am Most Active shares on NSE: SBI (Rs 2,421.70, Volume: 323,944), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,211.20, Volume: 449,016), HDFC (Rs 913.70, Volume: 501,664), United Spirits (Rs 2,304.90, Volume: 165,719), Axis Bank (Rs 1,532.00 Volume: 177,661)

Mkt driven by momentum, buy on intraday dips: Sukhani
See more momentum for mkt, likely to move higher: Udayan Mukherjee
Stocks in news: Tata Comm, DLF, Karnataka Bank

After a shallow dip opening, the market quickly picked up pace. The Sensex was up 52.02 points at 20264.98, and the Nifty was at 6164.25, up 17.50 points.

ICICI Bank, Dr Reddys Labs, SBI, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto were key gainers in the Sensex.

TCS, Infosys, Hero MotoCorp, M&M and HUL were losers in the Sensex.

Companies which are expected to announce March quarter earnings today are Bajaj Auto, Reliance Capital, Orbit Corp, TTK Prestige, Bajaj Holdings, DB Corp, Kalpataru Power, Mangalore Chem, McDowell's Holding, Essar Shipping among others.