Sensex hits 19000; L&T, Tata Motors, Bharti, NTPC up

MUMBAI: Indian markets gained momentum and moved above psychological resistance levels following positive cues from European peers. Capital goods, banks and auto space continued to remain strong while profit booking was seen in healthcare, realty and metal space

At 2:20 pm; Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 18987.79, up 172.15 points or 0.91 per cent. The 30-share index touched a high of 19024.18 and low of 18799.57 in trade so far.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5699.20, up 44.95 points or 0.79 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5709.10 and low of 5643.20 intraday.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.51 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.34 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Capital Goods Index was up 1.89 per cent, BSE Bankex gained 1.65 per cent and BSE Auto Index moved 1.50 per cent higher. BSE Healthcare Index was down 1.17 per cent and BSE Realty Index declined 0.28 per cent.

L&T (3.23%), Tata Motors (2.98%) Bharti Airtel (2.09%), Reliance Infrastructure (2.05%) and NTPC (2%) were the top Sensex gainers.

Reliance Infrastructure has withdrawn proposal for internal reorganization of some of its businesses and its 100% owned subsidiaries. "There is no impact on the profitability or business," the company said in a statement.
Jaiprakash Associates (-1.72%), Reliance Communications (-1.40%), Sterlite Industries (-0.92%), Cipla (-0.88%) and Infosys Technologies (-0.87%) were amongst the losers.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1293 advances against 1583 declines.

Meanwhile, the European markets were in the green. FTSE 100 was up 0.31 per cent, CAC 40 up 0.20 per cent and DAX advanced 0.28 per cent.