L&T drives Sensex higher, Maruti falls
Vinod Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland, told NDTV Profit that the company is planning to make about 36,000 vehicles in FY13-14. “We are happy about the exports market that we have developed. Southern markets are seeing revival,” he added.
The BSE Sensex broke out in the green after initial choppiness Tuesday. At 11 am, it traded 53 points or 0.33% higher at 16,269 while the broader Nifty index jumped 10 points to 4,918.
The capital goods index on the BSE soared nearly 2.5%, outperforming all other sectoral indices on account of strong buying in engineering and construction conglomerate L&T (4.22%). L&T had reported March quarter earnings yesterday and the strong FY13 order inflow guidance by the company is being seen as a key positive considering the weak macro-economic environment.
L&T was the top Nifty gainer. It was the biggest contributor to the Sensex in terms of weightage, adding 34 index points.
Auto stocks (-0.74%) pared losses. India's biggest car manufacturer Maruti (-2.1%) extended losses and continued to stay at the bottom of the Nifty index. Tata Motors (-1.1%) traded off the day's low.
Most other index traded with modest gains or losses. On the Nifty, 27 of the 50 stocks traded with gains.
Asian markets also traded off the day's low. Japan's Nikkei index pared losses and was down 0.9% while the Hang Seng index (0.2%) in Hong Kong extended gains.
The market breadth was even with 243 stocks rising and 233 retreating on the broader BSE 500 index.