Sensex trades firm, holds 17K

Sensex trades firm, holds 17K Sensex trades firm, holds

The key benchmark index remained firm to trade above 17,000 levels in the afternoon deals today. The Sensex was up 208 points at 17,056 levels and the Nifty rose 1.3 per cent to 5,066.
Auto, realty and metal stocks led the gains while IT counters showed some weakness. The metal index on the BSE rose 2.9 per cent and the BSE auto index advanced 2.7 per cent. The realty index also surged 2.7 per cent.
Among the Sensex stocks, Maruti Suzuki led the gainers. The stock jumped 4.7 per cent. DLF, Tata Steel and Sterlite Ind were the other major gainers in the pack, up over 3 per cent. However, Wipro, TCS and Infosys were trading lower today.
Asian stock markets advanced Monday as better-than-expected news about U.S. retailers buoyed confidence in world's largest economy and gold prices hit a new record.
Major markets across the region were up between 1 percent and 2 percent as investors poured into commodities and shares of resource companies while the dollar continued to founder. Gold broke above $1,130 and oil traded higher around $77.

Source:Reuters