Stocks posted modest gains as they consolidated near 4-month highs on Friday. Investors and traders were hesitant to extend aggressive long positions ahead of the weekend and the start of voting in the crucially important state of Uttar Pradesh.

Banks showed active interest as traders concentrated their energies on the sector in the aftermath of the Reserve Bank of India's surprise move to shift its `accommodative' stance on interest rates to `neutral', citing inflationary pressures in the economy. Voting begins on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh, where the ruling Samajwadi Party, in a pre-poll alliance with the Congress, is fighting to retain control of the most electorally important state. The Bharatiya Janata Party is battling the SP, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal in the 5-phase poll that will end in March.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, the benchmark Nifty hovered around the 8,800 mark, its highest level since mid-October. The index rose 15 points to 8,793 post noon. Overseas cues were modestly positive as Asian equities were trading with a mild shade of green and index futures in the EU and US markets were in positive territory.

Here are the main trading events of the day so far:

* The Sensex rose 20 points to 28,350 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Adani Ports was the top gainer while ITC lost the most. State Bank was the top traded stock by value.

* Grasim, Bank of Baroda, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports and State Bank rose 1.7-3.3 per cent on the Nifty and were among 28 stocks that advanced.

* Aurobindo Pharma, Zee Entertainment, BPCL, ITC and Tata Motor slipped 1.1-3.4 per cent and were among 22 shares that fell on the Nifty.

* Grasim, Axis Bank and State Bank were the top traded stocks by value on the NSE.

* Suzlon, State Bank and Federal Bank were on the list of most active shares on the exchanges.

* Motherson Sumi, Bajaj Finserv, ACC, Titan and Hindustan Zinc were among gainers in the wider market.

* Stocks losing ground included Indian Oil, SAIL, Cummins India and DLF.

* Overall, bulls were back in command of market sentiment with 848 shares rising compared to 747 that fell.