The BSE Sensex traded in the green and the Nifty bounced back above the 5,350 mark after a weak start Tuesday. Indian stocks tracked Asian markets, which traded off the day's low. European markets also recovered after a weak start, helping sentiments on the Street.
At 12.40 p.m., the Sensex was up 48 points or 0.3 per cent at 17,815 while the Nifty advanced 14 points to 5,377.
The BSE metal index extended losses as the Goa mining ban adversely affected companies like Sesa Goa, which is country's biggest iron ore producer in the private sector.
Sesa Goa shares traded 5.2 per cent lower at Rs 160.90. Shares in Sterlite Industries, another Vedanta Group firm that will soon merge with Sesa Goa, traded 4.2 per cent lower at Rs 94.40 on the NSE.
Global investment bank JP Morgan said Sesa Goa would likely turn nearly loss making on suspension of mining in Goa. That's because exports from Goa account for nearly 90 per cent of the company's earnings before income, tax, depreciation, and amortization (ebitda), which is a key measure of profitability.
Private steel maker JSPL extended losses and traded 2.6 per cent lower. The stock has fallen nearly 20 per cent since the CAG report on coal allocation named the company as a beneficiary of cheap coal.
31 stocks traded higher on the Nifty, led by oil refiner BPCL, which jumped 2.9 per cent on hopes of a fuel price hike today. Cement maker ACC and PSU lender Bank of Baroda were among the biggest gainers on the Nifty.
The market breadth was positive with 54 per cent stocks rising on the broader BSE 500.
(With inputs from Thomson Reuters)
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