Nifty holds 7,650 mark; Infosys zooms 5%

Benchmark indices continue to trade in a narrow range with positive bias led by IT shares.

At 10:10 AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 18 points at 25,601 and the 50-share Nifty was up 4 points at 7,660.

On the global front, the euro came under mounting pressure on Wednesday as the European Central Bank's liquidity package encouraged flows out of the zone, while Asian shares consolidated near recent highs following a flat finish on Wall Street.

The single currency was sliding across the board as investors looked to borrow euros at super-low rates and buy higher-yielding assets abroad, the so-called carry trade.

In contrast the dollar found support in a run of improving US economic data which pushed up Treasury yields and stoked speculation the Federal Reserve might sound less dovish on policy when it meets next week.

Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 682.26 crore on Tuesday, 10 June 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

On the sectoral front, BSE It index has zoomed by almost 3% followed by counters like TECk, Realty and Healthcare, all gaining between 1-2%. BSE FMCG index has declined by almost 1%.

The main gainers on the Sensex are Infosys, Wipro, GAIL, Cipla, SBI, Dr Reddy’s Lab, Hero Moto, TCS and Sun Pharma.

Infosys has zoomed by 5.32%, trading at Rs 3,230.

On the losing side, Sesa Sterlite, HDFC, HUL, Bajaj Auto and NTPC have declined by over 1% each.

Among other shares, L&T Finance Holdings has dipped over 5% to Rs 77.55 in early morning deals on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the promoter Larsen & Toubro (L&T) share sale programme for diluting 0.95% of its stake commenced today at bourses.

All three listed subsidiaries of State Bank of India (SBI) - State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore (SBM) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) - have rallied by up 18% on the bourses on reports that SBI proposes to merge its five remaining subsidiaries with itself.

JMT Auto was locked at 5% upper circuit at Rs 405.80 at 9:47 IST on BSE after the company's board at its meeting held on Tuesday, 10 June 2014, approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 5:2 i.e., five bonus shares for every two shares held.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained by 1% each.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,608 shares advancing and 523 shares declining.