Despite a weak lead from Asian and European markets, the Indian stock market is trading higher this afternoon thanks to selective buying at a few front line counters.
Bank, metal and realty stocks are mostly higher. A few stocks from telecom, capital goods and power sectors ar up with strong gains. Automobile and power stocks are mixed, while FMCG, information technology and oil stocks are a bit sluggish.
The Sensex is up 84.17 points or 0.31% at 27,322.23. The Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange is up 22.25 points or 0.26% at 8422.60.
Among the stocks in the Bankex, Federal Bank is gaining 2.7%. Punjab National Bank is up nearly 2% and State Bank of India is up 1.5%. HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank and Bank of Baroda are up 0.5% - 1.2%.
Bank of India, Canara Bank, Yes Bank, IDBI Bank, Syndicate Bank, Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, IDFC Bank and Karur Vysya Bank are also up in positive territory with notable gains.
Among metal stocks, Hindustan Zinc is up 2.75%, Tata Steel is gaining 2.7% and SAIL is up 2.6%. Vedanta (1.85%) and Jindal Steel & Power (1.6%) are also up sharply. JSW Steel, NMDC and Hindalco are up with modest gains.
