Markets end in green; auto, capital goods, realty shine

The 30-share Sensex gained 271 points to end at 28,805 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 84 points at 8,712.

Markets gained for the third straight day amid a rally in late trades led by capital goods and financials.

The 30-share Sensex gained 271 points to end at 28,805 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 84 points at 8,712.

On the macro economic front, the government will release index of industrial production (IIP) data for December 2014 and the annual rate of inflation based on the combined consumer price indices (CPI) for urban and rural India in January 2015 today later during the day.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors continued to remain sellers in Indian equities with net sale of Rs 371 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

On the global front, European stocks inched higher ahead of the summit meeting of European Union (EU) leaders scheduled in Brussels today, 12 February 2015.

The Indian rupee was trading flat at Rs 62.24 to the US dollar compared to the previous close of Rs 62.25.

BSE Power index was the top sectoral gainer up 2.5% followed by Capital Goods, Auto, Healthcare and Realty among others. L&T ended up 2%.

L&T Infotech, the IT services and solutions arm of the engineering major, is looking at revenues of over $1 billion in FY16 before it comes with its IPO in mid-2016.

BHEL ended up 5%. BHEL's Q3 net profit plunged 69.4% to Rs 212.6 crore.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 694.81 crore for the quarter ended 31 December, 2013.

In the financials segment, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank ended up 1.4-2% each. IT stocks ended higher. Infosys gained 1.2%.

ICA Gruppen, Sweden leading retailer, has partnered with Infosys to revitalize its IT Operations. Wipro ended up 0.8% and TCS closed with marginal gains.

Auto shares firmed up after the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) expects passenger vehicle sales to rise three to five per cent in 2014-15, up from its earlier projection of one-two per cent, on improved consumer sentiment over the past few months.

Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors ended up 2%each. Hero Motocorp rose 2%.

Hero Motocorp has introduced a refreshed version of its entry level commuter, the HF Dawn. M&M ended flat. Media reports suggest that Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering on Thursday denied it was in talks to sell a stake to Mahindra & Mahindra. Pharma stocks ended higher. Cipla and Dr Reddys Lab have gained 4-5.5% each while Sun Pharma ended down 0.4%.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever are down 0.2-1.5% each ahead of consumer price inflation data later today.

ONGC has declined 0.4%. ONGC and other state-run explorers may have to pay about Rs 10,900 crore in fuel subsidy after Finance Ministry has agreed to provide only Rs 5,085 crore in cash subsidy for the December quarter. RIL has shed over 1% on profit taking.

The broader markets outperformed benchmark indices, the BSE Mid-cap index ended up 1.1% and Small-cap index ended up 1.3%.

Market breadth ended strong with 1,616 gainers and 1,229 losers on the BSE.