Indian markets shrugged off a slowdown in factory output to close with modest gains. The Sensex rose 133 points or 0.77% to 17,332.62 while the broader Nifty index advanced 50 points to end at 5,276.85.
February's factory output, as measured by the index of industrial production, rose 4.1%, which was below expectations of over 6% growth. But analysts said the weak numbers may force the Reserve Bank to cut rates.
"This is the only month when inflation will be lower. Going forward, inflation might go up in the latter part of the year so RBI would not have the headroom to cut rates," Devang Mehta, vice president (equity sales) at Anand Rathi told NDTV Profit today.
"25 basis points is factored in. If it doesn't happen, markets will be disappointed," TS Harihar, Sr Vice President of ICICI Securities said.
Banking stocks (1.6%) led from the front. India's biggest lender SBI and private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank together contributed 50 index points to the Sensex. Other rate sensitive sectors like auto (1.2%) also saw buying interest though realty stocks (0.2%) traded flat.
Metal stocks (2.2%) rebounded today. Steel maker JSPL (5%) and mining firm Sterlite (4.4%) were the top Nifty gainers today. Cement stocks also bounced back. ACC rose 3.5%.
Among news making stocks, Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest car maker rose 3.1%. It launched a new multi-purpose vehicle called Ertiga today.
Infosys, India's second biggest IT services outsourcer fell 1.9% ahead of reporting Q4 numbers tomorrow. Other frontline IT stocks - Wipro (-1.5%) and TCS (-0.6%) also closed lower.
Aviation stocks lost momentum after a decision to allow 49% FDI in domestic carriers by foreign airlines was pushed to next week. Kingfisher (-2.5%) and Jet (-2.8%) closed with deep cuts.
Healthcare stocks saw profit booking. Drug makers like Dr Reddy's (-2.2%) and Sun Pharma (-0.7%) saw selling pressure.
The market breadth was positive with 68% stocks rising on the broader BSE 500 index.
Analysts said markets are likely to rise in the short term. "Till markets hold on to the 5,150-5,170 levels, where the 200 DMA is, we remain bullish on upside. The Nifty can move to 5,400 levels and the bank Nifty should outperform in the short term," Shardul Kulkarni, senior technical analyst of Angel Broking said.
Indian markets shrugged off a slowdown in factory output to close with modest gains. The Sensex rose 133 points or 0.77% to 17,332.62 while the broader Nifty index advanced 50 points to end at 5,276.85.
February's factory output, as measured by the index of industrial production, rose 4.1%, which was below expectations of over 6% growth. But analysts said the weak numbers may force the Reserve Bank to cut rates.
"This is the only month when inflation will be lower. Going forward, inflation might go up in the latter part of the year so RBI would not have the headroom to cut rates," Devang Mehta, vice president (equity sales) at Anand Rathi told NDTV Profit today.
"25 basis points is factored in. If it doesn't happen, markets will be disappointed," TS Harihar, Sr Vice President of ICICI Securities said.
Banking stocks (1.6%) led from the front. India's biggest lender SBI and private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank together contributed 50 index points to the Sensex. Other rate sensitive sectors like auto (1.2%) also saw buying interest though realty stocks (0.2%) traded flat.
Metal stocks (2.2%) rebounded today. Steel maker JSPL (5%) and mining firm Sterlite (4.4%) were the top Nifty gainers today. Cement stocks also bounced back. ACC rose 3.5%.
Among news making stocks, Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest car maker rose 3.1%. It launched a new multi-purpose vehicle called Ertiga today.
Infosys, India's second biggest IT services outsourcer fell 1.9% ahead of reporting Q4 numbers tomorrow. Other frontline IT stocks - Wipro (-1.5%) and TCS (-0.6%) also closed lower.
Aviation stocks lost momentum after a decision to allow 49% FDI in domestic carriers by foreign airlines was pushed to next week. Kingfisher (-2.5%) and Jet (-2.8%) closed with deep cuts.
Healthcare stocks saw profit booking. Drug makers like Dr Reddy's (-2.2%) and Sun Pharma (-0.7%) saw selling pressure.
The market breadth was positive with 68% stocks rising on the broader BSE 500 index.
Analysts said markets are likely to rise in the short term. "Till markets hold on to the 5,150-5,170 levels, where the 200 DMA is, we remain bullish on upside. The Nifty can move to 5,400 levels and the bank Nifty should outperform in the short term," Shardul Kulkarni, senior technical analyst of Angel Broking said.
Indian markets shrugged off a slowdown in factory output to close with modest gains. The Sensex rose 133 points or 0.77% to 17,332.62 while the broader Nifty index advanced 50 points to end at 5,276.85.
February's factory output, as measured by the index of industrial production, rose 4.1%, which was below expectations of over 6% growth. But analysts said the weak numbers may force the Reserve Bank to cut rates.
"This is the only month when inflation will be lower. Going forward, inflation might go up in the latter part of the year so RBI would not have the headroom to cut rates," Devang Mehta, vice president (equity sales) at Anand Rathi told NDTV Profit today.
"25 basis points is factored in. If it doesn't happen, markets will be disappointed," TS Harihar, Sr Vice President of ICICI Securities said.
Banking stocks (1.6%) led from the front. India's biggest lender SBI and private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank together contributed 50 index points to the Sensex. Other rate sensitive sectors like auto (1.2%) also saw buying interest though realty stocks (0.2%) traded flat.
Metal stocks (2.2%) rebounded today. Steel maker JSPL (5%) and mining firm Sterlite (4.4%) were the top Nifty gainers today. Cement stocks also bounced back. ACC rose 3.5%.
Among news making stocks, Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest car maker rose 3.1%. It launched a new multi-purpose vehicle called Ertiga today.
Infosys, India's second biggest IT services outsourcer fell 1.9% ahead of reporting Q4 numbers tomorrow. Other frontline IT stocks - Wipro (-1.5%) and TCS (-0.6%) also closed lower.
Aviation stocks lost momentum after a decision to allow 49% FDI in domestic carriers by foreign airlines was pushed to next week. Kingfisher (-2.5%) and Jet (-2.8%) closed with deep cuts.
Healthcare stocks saw profit booking. Drug makers like Dr Reddy's (-2.2%) and Sun Pharma (-0.7%) saw selling pressure.
The market breadth was positive with 68% stocks rising on the broader BSE 500 index.
Analysts said markets are likely to rise in the short term. "Till markets hold on to the 5,150-5,170 levels, where the 200 DMA is, we remain bullish on upside. The Nifty can move to 5,400 levels and the bank Nifty should outperform in the short term," Shardul Kulkarni, senior technical analyst of Angel Broking said.
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