Mkts positive amid volatility; RIL, HDFC, SBI, Bharti lead

At 13.10 hrs IST, the markets were witnessing choppy trade with positive bias. Buying interest was seen in metal, oil & gas, pharma and banking stocks. However, capital goods and auto stocks were under selling pressure. Stocks like Reliance, HDFC, ITC, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank were positive contributors to the Sensex.

The Sensex was up 84.12 points or 0.61% at 13853.27, and the Nifty was up 16.65 points or 0.41% at 4095.55.

About 1126 shares advanced, 1510 shares declined, and 520 shares were unchanged.

Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities said the market’s premium has been knocked off post-budget. He feels global cues will lead the next rally and does not see the Nifty falling below 3,900. "The markets can fall 5-8% if monsoons are bad. We would recommend buying if the Nifty breaches 4,000.

Top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma at Rs 1,176.05 up 2.95%, Reliance Infra at Rs 1,102.80 up 2.61%, Jaiprakash Asso at Rs 198.85 up 2.26%, Sterlite Ind at Rs 557.50 up 2.10% and SBI Rs 1,618 up 1.95%.

Top losers on the Sensex were M&M at Rs 710 down 3.66%, Tata Motors at Rs 272.65 down 3.02%, BHEL at Rs 2,007.90 down 1.9%, ICICI Bank at Rs 644.50 down 1.54% and Grasim at Rs 2,419 down 1.08%.

Top gainers on the BSE Midcap - Educomp Sol, ING Vysya Bank, SKF India, AIA Engineering and Wockhardt were up 5-11%.

Top gainers on the BSE Smallcap - Taj GVK Hotels, Hatsun Agro, Asahi India, Money Matters and Panyam Cements were up 6-7%. link....