Nifty gains momentum, Reliance, Tata Power lead

MUMBAI, Mar 10 (Economic Times): Sustained buying activity was seen across the board Wednesday led by gains in heavyweights from oil & gas, auto and realty stocks. Traders are of the view that the market is likely to consolidate at current levels before the next move.

"The markets are unlikely to deviate from yesterday's behavior and should continue in this consolidation mode till another round of triggers crop up or crucial support levels are close by. For the day, a flattish to negative opening followed by narrow range movement is expected.

The uptrend in the Nifty has entered crucial levels where the resistance levels of 5140-5180 are playing on. Short term chart remain overbought and warrant a corrective price action or some sideways consolidation. Break below 5080 would lead to retest of 50 SDMA support of 5021.

On the other hand 5140-5180 would be difficult to surmount in a hurry. Range traders may use this opportunity to take some short term positions with narrow stops to play the range. Overall outlook on the Nifty remains bullish for the medium term," said Edelweiss report.

At 10:30 am National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5131.55, up 30.05 points or 0.59 per cent. The index touched a high of 5137.40 and low of 5092.05.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 17171.06, up 118.52 points or 0.70 per cent. The index touched a high of 17181.31 and low of 17027.92.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.69 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.74 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices BSE Oil & gas Index was up 1.70 per cent and BSE Auto Index moved 1.04 per cent higher and BSE Realty Index gained 0.95 per cent.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1097 gainers and 641 declines.

Major US equities ended slightly higher as falling commodity prices pressured materials stocks, offsetting gains in the telecom and industrial sectors.

Asian counters were trading mixed as oil prices and shipping rates dropped. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.07 per cent and Taiwan Weighted slipped 0.09 per cent. Straits Times rose 0.56 per cent and Hang Seng advanced 0.04 per cent.