Markets rebound from day's lows; Axis Bank, HUL up 2%

Benchmark share indices which had pared early gains rebounded after the first hour of trade, amid encouraging manufacturing growth, led by FMCG majors and select private banks.

At 10:40AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 64 points at 28,758 and the 50-share Nifty was up 20 points at 8,609.

Further, India's factory growth expanded at its fastest pace in nearly two years. November HSBC manufacturing PMI stood at 21-month high at 53.3 compared to 51.6 in October.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 935.86 crore on Friday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

The Indian rupee continued to trade weak against the US dollar. The rupee is trading at 62.15 compared to Friday's close of 62.02. The Indian unit hit a low of 62.25 earlier, a level last seen on Feb 20.

Asian markets are trading mixed with Nikkei and Shanghai Composite up 0.7% each. However, Hong Kong shares continued to trade weak after pro-democracy protestors stepped up their efforts for genuine democratic reforms. Hang Seng was down nearly 2% and Straits Times was down 0.5%.

Consumer Durables index was the top sectoral gainer in early trades up 4.5% followed by Healthcare, Auto and IT sectors.

Realty index was the top sectoral loser down 0.9% followed by Oil & Gas, Metal and Capital Goods among others.

Sensex gainers include, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever. HUL was up 2%. The company has indicated that it would be able to manage margin expansion, even with rising excise duties, going forward. According to analyst at Kotak Securities, HUL will likely begin to reap benefits of lower commodity prices from 3QFY15 (October – December 2014).

Auto stocks firmed up ahead of November sales numbers. Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, M&M and Bajaj Auto were up 0.4-1% each.

Infosys pared early gains and was down 1% as the stock will be traded ex-bonus from tomorrow. The company has fixed December 3, 2014 as record date for the purpose of allotment of bonus shares / stock dividend.

Oil shares also witnessed profit taking at higher levels. Reliance Industries and ONGC were down over 1% each.

In the capital goods space BHEL was down 1% after rising 12% last week. Larsen & Toubro was down 0.9%.

Sun Pharma was up 0.7%. Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has approved the proposal of the Company for issuing equity shares of the Company to the non-resident investors of Ranbaxy Laboratories pursuant to its merger with Ranbaxy. Dr Reddy's Labs and Cipla were up 0.6-0.8% each.

Among other shares, Shares of Spicejet zoomed 15% to Rs 20.95, extending its Friday’s 18% surge on BSE, after high networth investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala acquired 1.4% stake in the company through open market.

Shares of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers has surged nearly 15% to Rs 93.50 on NSE after the company said Dr.Vijay Mallya, a director on the board of directors of the company, has resigned with immediate effect.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index was up 0.5% and Small-cap index was up 0.2% each.

Market breadth was strong with 1,219 gainers and 926 losers on the BSE.