Stable close: Sensex ends up 109 pts, HDIL gains 13%

After a strong Tuesday, the day saw a stable close today. Gaining 109 points, the Sensex ended at day's high while the Nifty added 34.35 points to close at 5818.60. Overall, the market remained in narrow trading range. Steady European markets also boosted sentiment in India.

Gainers of the day were Sterlite Industries (up 4.7 percent), Hindalco (up 3.4 percent) and Tata Motors (up 2.9 percent).

Star of the market were high beta stocks like realty and infra. Among the realty stocks, HDIL was up 13.1 percent while Anant Raj, Sobha Developer and DLF gained around 7-3 percent each.

Engineering & construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) added around 3 percent intraday as Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a buy rating, with a target price of Rs 1710.

Banking stocks also saw some buying interest ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy on March 19. Bank of Baroda, PNB, IDBI Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank added around 2.7-1.2 percent each.

Top losers on the Sensex include M&M (down 2.2 percent) while HUL, ITC and Maruti fell around 1 percent each. AstraZeneca Pharma lost nearly 7.3 percent to touch a 52-week low of Rs 711.20 in early trade after the company said its promoter AB Sweden decided to reduce stake in the company.

Stock market picked up momentum and benchmarks gained more than 0.5 percent in late afternoon trade. Technical analysts say Nifty is poised to move up, mild hiccups not withstanding. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com advised investors to stay long on Nifty and even pick midcap stocks which will  give good returns in the long run.

At 14.42 PM, the Sensex was up 111.52 points or 19254.69, and the Nifty moved up 34.70 points at 5818.95. Metals continue to lead the indices with Sterlite, Hindalco, Sesa Goa, and Tata  Steel with 5 percent, 3 percent, 3.5 percent and 3 percent gains.

With 4 percent gains, DLF was the top realty player in the largecap space followed by Oberoi Realty. In the midcap realty HDIL and Shobha developer were having a field day rising 12 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Key equity benchmarks continue to trade firm. The Sensex is up 97.30 points at 19240.47 and the Nifty up 27.70 points at 5811.95. About 1591 shares have advanced, 898 shares declined, and 1009 shares are unchanged.

Sterlite Industries was the top gainers on the Sensex rising more than four percent. Hindalco and Tata Steel were the other gainers from the metal pack.

Hindustan Zinc gained 3.61 percent as government sources indicate that the Law Ministry is reconsidering its view on the Hindustan Zinc and Balco stake sale. The government is likely to consider amendment of Mines Act. Sale of Hindustan Zinc is reportedly the government's first option to achieve its Rs 14,000 crore target

Shares in Larsen & Toubro continue their upward journey (up 2.77%) after Goldman Sachs upgrades the stock to "buy" from "neutral".

On the flip side, FMGC player HUL slipped 1.12% followed M&M, ITC and HDFC.

Key equity benchmarks continue to trade strong in early afternoon trade. The Sensex is up 105.05 points or 0.55 percent at 19248.22. Meanwhile, the Nifty is up 29.50 points or 0.51 percent at 5813.75.

US-based rating agency S&P says it sees India's FY14 GDP growth at 6.4 percent and FY15 figure at 7.2 percent. It expects a turnaround in Indian corporate sector for mid-FY14.

"We also see a mild recovery in exports from India," S&P says in its statement.

Shares in Larsen & Toubro gain more than 2 percent after Goldman Sachs upgrades the stock to "buy" from "neutral".

Goldman cites cheaper valuations after L&T's recent under-performance against the broader index and the prospect of stable revenue growth over the medium term.

The investment bank also notes the government is expected to fast track an estimated USD 30 billion worth of infrastructure projects in fiscal 2013-14, while also pointing to other supportive factors such as an expected lower cost of financing.

Software services exporters lead gains as traders also bet the weakening rupee could help improve returns from overseas profits.

Infosys shares gain 1.3 percent, while Wipro rises 2.4 percent.

Real estate stocks are having a good session of trade; HDIL up 12.2 percent, Sobha gains 8.7 percent and DLF rises 4.6 percent.

Indian shares lacked the enthusiasm of Dow Jones Industrial Average which touched historic highs driven by improved US service-industry data. Led by metals and auto, headline indices opened with a gap up, but appeared exhausted after the tremendous rally on Tuesday.

At 09.21 AM, the Sensex was up 81.83 points at 19225.00, and the Nifty rose 20.45 points at 5804.70.
 
Metals continue to rule for the second consecutive day. Sterlite, Hindalco and Coal India were up over 1 percent. In the auto space, Tata Motors was the only noticiable performer, rising over 1 percent in continuation of its previous day's journey. Bajaj Auto had moved up by 0.5 percent. The rest, namely, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp were trading in the red.

ICICI Bank slowed down in the morning trade after closing with a 3 percent gain on growing hopes that the Reserve Bank of India will cut interest rates in its policy meet later this month. ICICI as well as HDFC Bank were up 0.6 percent, followed by State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC. Sentiment also improved after it was indicated that  major central banks across the globe would decide to keep monetary policy loose at meetings this week.

DLF was once again the fabourite realty stock, gaining over 1 percent in the morning trade. Godrej Properties and Pantaloon consolidated its positions after Tuesday's rally with 1 percent and 1.7 percent gains respectively. JP Associates, Larsen and IDFC were other index gainers.

The battered midcap space was better than its largecap peers. PC Jeweller shot up 4.7 percent after yesterday's rally.