Markets were trading higher led by strong gains in banking and auto stocks and completely discounted the bomb blasts in Bangalore. The Sensex was trading higher by 55 points at 2.30 pm IST, while the Nifty was higher by 24 points. Among the gainers in trade were ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank from the banking space.

On the other hand stocks that gained from the auto pack was Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Hero Motor Corp.

Stocks that lost ground from the Nifty were mostly from the technology Tata Consultancy, Infosys Technologies and HCL Tech. In fact, HCL Tech lost ground despite reporting a good set of numbers.

Shares in gold loan and jewellery stocks saw some recovery today on reports that a fall in gold prices would help spur demand.

Realty stocks jumped in trade today with stocks like with Unitech up almost 7 per cent, while Indiabulls and Sobha Developers were also among the gainers.

PSU Banking stocks also came in for buying support led by a smart rally in the State Bank of India stocks on reports of fund raising plans. Other stocks that climbed from the sector were Punjab National Bank and Allahabad Bank.

Also read Bangalore blast: Twitterati angry over politics of blast

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