The share market opened on a steady note, tracking positive global cues. The Sensex was up 74.88 points at 18819.81, and the Nifty gained 19.70 points to 5708.65. The slump in gold price and big correction in crude price has got investors interested in Indian equities once again.

Some of the big gainers were SBI, L&T, GAIL, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors. Boosted by better-than-expected third quarter earning, HCL Tech jumped 5 percent. Its  net profit soared 73 percent year-on-year (8 percent quarter-on-quarter) to Rs 1,040 crore, helped by new deal wins, even as the overall environment remained challenging and uncertain. Its revenue was up 23 percent from a year ago (2 percent sequentially) to Rs 6,425 crore in Jan-March.

Midcap stock markets were also performing well. Delta Corp, Dish TV, EID Parry, HDIL were among the major gainers. Gold loan related companies recovered as Muthoot Finance gained around 4 percent but Manappuram Finance was still down 4.78 percent.

Kingfisher Airlines (down 4.9 percent) continued to reel under pressure. Other major losers in the Sensex were RIL, Maruti, DRL, Bajaj Auto and HUL. The BSE index falls 0.04 percent and the 50-share NSE index up 0.05 percent in choppy trade.  Reliance Industries’ shares fall 2.8 percent after its revenue growth for the January-March quarter missed analyst estimates while profits were broadly in line.

Tech shares fall tracking the rupee’s appreciation and on worries that a proposed U.S. Senate immigration bill may lead to outsourcing firms paying higher fees and wages to H-1B visa workers.

Infosys Ltd falls 1 percent, while Tata Consultancy Services Ltd is down 1.4 percent. However, shares in HCL Technologies Ltd gain 1.8 percent after its January-March net profit beat analysts estimates.