Markets firm, Nifty breaches 5,200

After a firm start, the markets gained momentum in late morning deals with the benchmark index surging over 400 points to trade at 17,774 levels.

In the broader markets, the Nifty breached 5,200 levels for the first time ever. It is hovering at 5,211 levels, up 2.8 per cent or 142 points.

"I am not surprised with how Indian markets are behaving. Stocks are being bought purely on fundamental basis, especially power and oil and gas scrips," said Rajesh Jain, Director & CEO, Pranav Securities.

In world markets, Wall Street ended mixed on Tuesday, selling off large companies' stocks but buying up those of smaller companies. According to preliminary calculations, Dow fell 40.24 points or 0.29 per cent to 14,047 levels.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.41 points to 1,546 levels, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 6.12 points or 0.22 per cent to end at 2,747 levels.

Back home, leading the charge at the Sensex is Reliance Communication. The counter moved up 4.4 per cent or Rs 27.

"A wise way of playing this market is to keep booking profits at regular intervals. With the kind of steep rise we have seen, I expect the correction to be severe," said Ashish Kapur, CEO, Invest Shoppe.

Reliance Energy, Grasim Industries, Infosys Technologies, HDFC, NTPC, ONGC, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, TCS, Satyam Computer, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro are some of the other notable gainers.

Among the NSE 50 scrips, Tata Power, Sterlite Industries, SAIL, Mahindra & Mahindra, IPCL, Siemens India, Reliance Petroleum, Suzlon Energy, VSNL, Infosys Technologies, HCL Technologies and ACC logged smart gains.

On firm foundation

All sectoral indices are trading in positive turf. The BSE realty index is the top gainer that zoomed 4.8 per cent or 441 points in early deals.

DLF Limited at Rs 828 levels is the biggest gainer in this space. The stock firmed up over eight per cent or Rs 61 on the back of the company and its JV partner Limitless Holdings, winning Karnataka government's 9,000 acre New Bangalore project.

Unitech Limited, Akruti Nirman, Indiabulls Real Estate, Purvankara Projects, Sobha Developers, HDIL, Anant Raj Industries, Parsvnath Developers and Ansal API are the other key gainers.

Strength is also visible in metal scrips. Ispat Industries, Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Steel, SAIL, Jindal Saw and JSW Steel are also trading in the green.

In the banking pack, Centurion Bank of Punjab, Karnataka Bank and ICICI Bank firmed up over two per cent. HDFC Bank, Union Bank of India, SBI, Allahabad Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank are also holding firm.