Sensex gains 120pts amid consolidation, Nifty fails to hold 7900

Equity benchmarks halved gains due to late profit booking in index heavyweights on Tuesday. In intraday trade, the market gained nearly 1 percent, tracking positive global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 120.38 points to 25773.61. The 50-share NSE Nifty failed to close above 7900 level, rising 30 points to 7890.75. The broader markets also lost some gains to close marginally higher.

Experts say the market is likely to take a breather and consolidate around current levels as it awaits clarity on the way the monsoon pans out.

Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS believes the market currently is over-bought and fairly valued. According to him, the markets will consolidate in the near-term till the British referendum decision which is slated for June 23. After that, the markets would show a path forward.

If the monsoons are as good as promised then reaching Nifty levels of 8700-9000 by March, 2017 is possible, Kapoor feels.

On the global front, European stocks traded higher pulled up by the miners amid a rally in oil prices and as sentiment was given a boost by Warren Buffett's investment in Apple. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained more than half a percent. Even most Asian markets were positive at close, with Hang Seng and Nikkei rising over a percent.

HDFC (up 2.44 percent), Axis Bank (up 3.32 percent) and ONGC (up 3.72 percent) were top contributors to Sensex's gains. Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, M&M and Maruti gained 1-2 percent while HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, HUL, Infosys and Tata Motors were down 0.3-1.4 percent.Sun TV Network surged 10 percent as most exit polls have predicted that the DMK-Congress alliance may win the state elections in Tamil Nadu. Chennai-based Sun TV owned by Kalanithi Maran (grandnephew of DMK President M Karunanidhi) is seen gaining high revenue growth when DMK is in power.

Syndicate Bank rose nearly 5 percent after it said the balancesheet has been cleaned up. It reported a loss of Rs 2,158 crore due to higher provisions and exceptional loss (on account of fraud at 3 branches).

Motherson Sumi rallied over 8 percent as fourth quarter profit jumped 21.6 percent on strong operational performance. The New Delhi-based auto ancillary company achieved quarterly revenue of Rs 10,000 crore for the first time in history.

Voltas rose 3 percent after earnings beat analysts' expectations. Profit during January-March quarter increased 49.5 percent compared to year-ago period.

Bharat Forge was down 0.55 percent as its profit in fourth quarter declined 19 percent compared to year-ago period due to weak exports.