Indian equities gained momentum on Thursday due to relentless buying seen in auto, realty and metal stocks. At 11.22 a.m., the Sensex was trading up 194.06 points or 0.87% at 22,471.29 with 25 components gaining. Meanwhile, the Nifty was trading higher by 61.90 points or 0.93% at 6,737.20 with 44 components gaining.

The 30-share benchmark index, BSE Sensex opened with a gain of 50.53 points or 0.23% at 22,327.76, while the broad based NSE Nifty started with a rise of 20.15 points or 0.30%, at 6,695.45.

Sensex Movers

I C I C I Bank contributed rise of 45.04 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Reliance Industries (28.04 points), Tata Motors (22.36 points), Infosys (16.51 points) and I T C (16.05 points).

However, H D F C Bank contributed fall of 32.15 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (4.69 points), NTPC (2.88 points), and Tata Steel (0.72 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Tata Motors (3.02%), Jindal Steel & Power (2.82%), I C I C I Bank (2.51%), Wipro (2.26%), Hindalco Industries (1.96%), and Mahindra & Mahindra (1.47%).

On the other hand, H D F C Bank (1.81%), NTPC (0.69%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (0.47%), and Coal India (0.14%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Sectors in Limelight

The Auto index was at 13,419.94, up by 222.64 points or by 1.69%. The major gainers were Exide Industries (1.57%), Ashok Leyland (1.54%), Hero Motocorp (1.41%), Bajaj Auto (0.68%) and Cummins India (0.48%).

The Realty index was at 1,475.17, up by 22.92 points or by 1.58%. The major gainers were Housing Development and Infrastructure (4.17%), Indiabulls Real Estate (3%), Godrej Properties (2.53%), Anant Raj (1.75%) and D L F (0.92%).

The Metal index was at 10,189.51, up by 109.06 points or by 1.08%. The major gainers were Jindal Steel & Power (2.82%), JSW Steel (2.12%), Hindalco Industries (1.96%), Hindustan Zinc (1.28%) and NMDC (1.04%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was positive with 1,387 advances against 729 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

Bayer CropScience topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 2,766.66 million. It was followed by Tata Consultancy Services (Rs. 460.03 million), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs. 410.78 million) and Adani Enterprises (Rs. 398.21 million).

The volume chart was led by Kingfisher Airlines with trades of over 2.49 million shares. It was followed by Unitech (2.14 million), Bayer CropScience (1.89 million) and Housing Development and Infrastructure (1.57 million).