Sensex remains sluggish; DB Corp rules firm @ 13:37 hrs

The market remains quite sluggish this afternoon with investors not showing any great interest in picking up stocks, and instead, appear keen on booking some profits at small rallies.

At 17,690.49, the Sensex is up 4.25 points or 0.02% at present. The Nifty is up 0.14% or 7.15 points at 5285.05. Earlier in the day, the Sensex and Nifty had touched 17,790.33 and 5310.85 respectively, their best figures since 28 February 2008.

Pharmaceuticals stocks continue to outperform the market. Mirroring strong gains posted by key stocks in this space, the BSE Healthcare index has moved up by nearly 2.25% now.

Realty and oil stocks are among the other prominent gainers. Bank stocks have come off their earlier highs. PSU, capital goods and FMCG stocks are also trading off their highs. Auto, metal and information technology stocks remain quite subdued.

More India business stories

Among the gainers in the Sensex, Tata Power is up 3.3%, Grasim Industries is trading higher by 2.3% and Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries are up by around 1.5%. DLF, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, NTPC and Reliance Communications are also up with notable gains.

Piramal Healthcare, the top gainer in the Healthcare index, is up nearly 4.25% at Rs 386.25. Cipla, Dishman Pharma and Dr Reddy's Laboratories are trading stronger by 3.5% - 34%. Biocon has gained 2.9%.

Lupin, Wockhardt, Divi's Laboratories, Orchid Chemicals, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Glaxo Smithkline Pharma, Opto Circuits, IPCA Laboratories and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals are also trading firm.

Among realty stocks, Phoenix Mills has gained more than 5%. Mahindra Lifespace is up with a gain of 4.15%. Anant Raj Industries is up nearly 3%. Ansal Properties, India Bulls Real Estate, Unitech, Parsvnath Developers and HDIL are up with sharp to moderate gains.

More India business stories

DB Corp continues to attract strong buying enquiries. The new entrant to the bourses, at Rs 272, is up as much as 28.3% over its issue price. On the National Stock Exchange, the DB Corp counter has clocked a volume of 24.4 million shares so far. The stock tops the chart with a turnover of near Rs 645 crore.