Sensex, Nifty remain high up in positive territory; BHEL sparkles

The market, which retreated a bit after a sharp rally, has edged higher again with several front line stocks resuming their journey up north on strong buying support.

A strong close on Wall Street overnight following some upbeat economic data and the firm trend in Asian markets amid easing worries about the financial situation in Greece are contributing to the market's sharp upmove today. Expectations of some rate cuts in the near future thanks to a sharp decline in headline inflation too contribute to the surge.

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The Sensex is now up 226.75 points or 1.25% at 18,380.74, off the day's high of 18,423.06. The Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange is up 70 points or 1.26% at 5591.95, slightly off the day's high of 5606.70.

All the sectoral indices, barring BSE Auto, are up in positive territory. Consumer durables, power and capital goods stocks are among the most impressive gainers. Realty, metal, PSU, information technology and bank stocks are also mostly up with strong gains.

BHEL, up 10.3% at Rs 314.50, is the biggest gainer in the Sensex. The stock is up on strong buying on the back of reports that NTPC is likely to award Rs 22,000 crore equipment orders in the next 45 days, having won its legal battle in Supreme Court against Ansaldo Caldaie India.

Sterlite Industries has gained a little over 5% and Tata Power is up with a gain of 4.5%. DLF, NTPC and State Bank of India are trading higher by 3.5% - 3.75%. Coal India, Larsen & Toubro, Jindal Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services are up 2% - 3%. ONGC, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries are also trading notably higher.

Reliance Power is up with a big gain of 7% at Rs 132. Sesa Goa has notched up a gain of 5.7%. IDFC, Axis Bank, SAIL, Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure and Punjab National Bank are up 2% - 4.5%. HCL Technologies, Siemens and Power Grid Corporation are also trading firm.

Automobile stocks Maruti Suzuki (down 2.1%), Hero Motocorp (down 1.6%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.1%) and Tata Motors (down 0.8%) are trading notably lower.

BPCL is trading lower by about 2.3%. Cairn India and Dr Reddy's Laboratories are also trading weak.

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Lanco Infratech, up nearly 13%, is the top gainer in BSE 'A' Group. JSW Energy has gained nearly 11%. Adani Power, Titan Industries, Wockhardt and CESC are trading stronger by 6% - 9%. Thermax, HDIL, Crompton Greaves, Apollo Tyres, Indiabulls Financial Services, JP Infratech, Adani Enterprises and United Spirits are up 3.5% - 5.75% now.

Rural Electrification Corporation has approved to raise Rs 1500 crore through public issue of tax free secured redeemable non-convertible bonds of face value of Rs 1000 each. The stock is up nearly 2.5% at Rs 247.50 at present.