Nifty rises above 6100 in special trade, drugmakers gain

The 50-share Nifty benchmark edged above the 6,100 mark in a special trading session on Saturday. The BSE Sensex traded above the 20,100 mark.

The Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange are open for a live trading session on Saturday.

Trading will take place between 11.15 a.m. and 12.45 p.m. in the cash segment from the Disaster Recovery site of the bourses.

Markets closed at over three-month high on Friday amid continued foreign buying. The Sensex has risen about 9 per cent since mid-April, helped by a surge in foreign buying that analysts say is tied to a rally in the global markets as easier monetary policies worldwide spark demand for riskier assets.

While some analysts have turned cautious after the sharp rise, many remain bullish on Indian equities.

Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava said gains are coming slow and steady, but the big disappointment has been the dollar rupee cross.

"The rupee is the only missing link as far as the Nifty is concerned. If the rupee breaks out above 55, we will book profits in Nifty too," Mr Srivastava said.

Drug makers such as Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma were the top Nifty gainers, rising over 2 per cent.

Oil marketing stocks like BPCL rose after a hike in diesel prices.

Recent laggards such as Asian Paints and drug maker Ranbaxy rose on short covering.

State-run utility major NTPC was the top Nifty loser, down 0.75 per cent. NTPC had reported in-line numbers on Friday. Gail India and Tata Motors also traded lower.

The Sensex was up 24 points at 21,107, while the Nifty traded 7 points higher at 6,102 as of 11.30a.m.