Indian markets remain firm

Indian markets are trading firm for extended gains in the late afternoon session, with the Sensex and the Nifty both up by more than 1%.

The marginal recovery in the rupee helped the market. The rupee was trading at 52.62 to the dollar as against an all-time low of 52.73. Index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, BHEL and Coal India have been trading up, with gains between 1.04%-2.21%. 

Asian stock markets recovered from the day’s low, and were slightly trading lower, as lawmakers in the US failed to reach a deal to reduce the nation's hefty deficit. Worries about France moving closer to a sovereign-ratings downgrade also rattled investors.

European stocks opened on a positive note, as rating companies affirmed America’s credit rating, which helped to ease out the tension that engulfed the world markets yesterday.

Back home, the IT Index is leading among the BSE sectoral indices, with gains of 2.49%. Tech and Metals are up with 1.44% and 1.23% gains respectively. The other sectoral indices are also up, with gains between 0.25%-1.10%. However, Consumer Durables has extended its morning losses, down by 2.5%.

Tata Motors remains the top performer in the 30-share Sensex, with a  gain of more than 5%. HDFC, Infosys, TCS, JP Associates, SBI, ICICI Bank and DLF all gained between 1%-3%. However, Bharti Airtel was top among the losers, with losses of more than 2%.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is positive. On the BSE, 1310 shares rose and 1249 shares fell. 117 shares remained unchanged.

After the positive opening of the European markets, we expect the markets to remain positive for the rest of the day. However, we advise our readers to play safe.